Hepatoprotective effect of aged black garlic on chronic alcohol-induced liver injury in rats.

Abstract The hepatoprotective effect of aged black garlic (ABG) against ethanol-induced oxidative liver damage was investigated in adult male Sprague–Dawley rats for 4 weeks. Rats were divided into three groups: a saline (WT) group, an ethanol (ET) group (15 mL/kg of body weight 20% [wt/vol] ethanol), and an ethanol + ABG (ET+ABG) group (ethanol + 100 mg/kg of body weight ABG). ABG administration led to decreased epididymal and total fat pad (P<.05) and liver weights, ameliorated prominent fatty changes around the portal triad, and reduced fat accumulation in liver. ABG caused a significant decrease of the alcohol-induced increases in hepatic activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase. Cytochrome P450 2E1 activity was reduced by 55%, whereas the activities of glutathione S-transferase and quinine reductase were increased by 1.5-fold (P<.05) and fourfold (P<.05), respectively, in the ET+ABG group compared with the ET group. ABG treatm...