Effects of antrosterol from Antrodia camphorata submerged whole broth on lipid homeostasis, antioxidation, alcohol clearance, and anti-inflammation in livers of chronic-alcohol fed mice

Ethnopharmacological relevance Antrodia camphorata is a functional fungus in Taiwan and owns several pharmacological functions. Antrosterol, a bioactive constitute of sterols in edible Antrodia camphorata submerged whole broth, can protect liver from CCl4 damage via enhancing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacities. Aim of the study The aim of this study was to investigate the hepatoprotection of antrosterol (named as EK100) against alcohol consumption. Materials and methods A Lieber-DeCarli regular EtOH diet (EtOH liquid diet, 5% (v/v) alcohol) was applied to induce alcoholic liver damage. Mice were randomly divided into 5 groups: (1) Control: control liquid diet; (2) EtOH: EtOH liquid diet; (3) EK100_1X: EtOH liquid diet and 1 mg EK100 (Antrosterol)/Kg body weight (bw); (4) EK100_5X: EtOH liquid diet and 5 mg EK100/Kg bw; (5) EK100_10X: EtOH liquid diet and 10 mg EK100/Kg bw. At the end of experiment, the livers were collected for histo-pathological analyses, RNA and protein extraction, and enzymatic activities. Results Antrosterol reduced serum/liver lipids of alcohol-diet fed mice which highly related to upregulated fatty acid β-oxidation and downregulated lipogenesis, and increased fecal lipid/bile-acid outputs. Antrosterol enhanced hepatic antioxidant capabilities in alcohol-diet fed mice while it also lowered serum alcohol level, as well as increased alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and catalase (CAT) activities and decreased CYP2E1 protein expression in livers of alcohol-diet fed mice. Besides, antrosterol lowered hepatic inflammation and fibrosis related gene expressions, as well as serum AST/ALT values and TNF-α/IL-1β contents in alcohol-diet fed mice. Conclusion Based on the results, hepatoprotection of antrosterol is mostly attributed to its regulations of lipid homeostasis, antioxidant capability, alcohol metabolism, and anti-inflammation.