Agarwood extract mitigates alcoholic fatty liver in C57 mice via anti‑oxidation and anti‑inflammation

Alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) is a disease with a high incidence rate among individuals who drink alcohol. Our previous study found that agarwood alcohol extracts (AAEs) have a protective effect against drug-induced liver damage via anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms. Therefore, we hypothesized that agarwood may have a protective effect against AFLD. The present study assessed the potential protective effects and the underlying mechanism of action of AAEs for the treatment of an AFL in vivo model. The AFLD mouse model was established by continuous high fat diet and alcohol gavage in C57 mice. After treatment with AAEs, blood was collected, liver and adipose tissues were removed and liver and adipose indexes were analyzed. The levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG) and cholesterol (CHO) in serum were detected. The liver tissue was assessed using pathological sections. Biochemical methods were used to detect the levels of oxidative stress in the supernatant of liver tissue homogenate. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum were detected by ELISA. The protein expression levels of nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) in liver tissues were detected using western blotting. AAE treatment decreased the liver and adipose indexes, reduced the levels of AST, ALT, TG and CHO, improved the liver pathological characteristics and enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In addition, AAEs increased the protein expression level of Nrf2 and decreased the protein expression level of NF-κB compared with AFL mice. AAE-treated animals exhibited reduced metabolic enzyme and blood lipid levels, demonstrated improved liver function and relieved the pathological damage of AFLD induced by consuming a high fat and alcohol diet. AAEs have potential protective effects in AFLD via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.