Role of naringin supplement in regulation of lipid and ethanol metabolism in rats

The current study was performed to investigate the effect of naringin supplements on the alcohol, lipid, and antioxidant metabolism in ethanol-treated rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups (n = 10) based on six dietary categories: ethanol and naringin-free, ethanol (50 g/L) plus low-naringin (0.05 g/L), ethanol plus high-naringin (0.125 g/L), and three corresponding pair-fed groups. The pair-fed control rats received an isocaloric diet containing dextrin-maltose instead of ethanol for 5 wks. Among the ethanol treated groups, the naringin supplements significantly lowered the plasma ethanol concentration with a simultaneous increase in the ADH and/or ALDH activities. However, among the ethanol-treated groups, naringin supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in the hepatic triglycerides and plasma and hepatic total cholesterol compared to that in the naringin-free group. Naringin supplementation significantly increased the HDL-cholesterol and HDL-C/total-C ratio, while lowering the Al value among the ethanol-treated groups. Hepatic lipid accumulation was also significantly reduced in the naringin-supplemented groups compared to the naringin-free group among the ethanol-treated groups, while no differences were found among the pair-fed groups. Among the ethanol-treated groups, the low-naringin supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in the levels of plasma and hepatic TBARS, whereas it resulted in higher SOD and GSH-Px activities and gluthathion levels in the liver. Accordingly, naringin would appear to contribute to alleviating the adverse effect of ethanol ingestion by enhancing the ethanol and lipid metabolism as well as the hepatic antioxidant defense system. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.