Gastro-Protective Effect of Fermented Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) in a Rat Model of Ethanol/HCl-Induced Gastric Injury

The present research purposed to examine the gastro-protective effect of Glycine max (L.) Merr. fermented using Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. delbrueckii Rosell-187 (Gastro-AD(®)) on ethanol/HCl-induced gastric damage, specifically on gastric acid secretion. After oral supplementation of Gastro-AD(®) to Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats with ethanol/HCl-induced gastric damage, we determined that Gastro-AD(®) attenuated the gastric mucosal lesion, hemorrhage and gastric acid secretion induced by ethanol/HCl. In addition, we observed that the Gastro-AD(®) treatment increased the serum prostaglandin E2 level and decreased the levels of gastric acid secretion-related receptors in both gastric tissues and primary gastric parietal cells. Furthermore, it decreased the levels of inflammatory factors, including serum histamine and expression of p-IκB, p-p65, iNOS and COX-2 and the activity of apoptotic signaling pathways, including those involving p-JNK, Bcl2/Bax, Fas, FADD, caspase-8 and caspase-3, in the stomach of the ethanol/HCl-treated rats. Thus, we suggest that Gastro-AD(®) supplementation may reduce ethanol/HCl-induced gastric acid secretion and prevent gastric injury.