β-胡蘿蔔素抑制長期攝食酒精之大白鼠肝臟脂肪堆積

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of β-carotene on hypertriglycemia and alcoholic fatty liver in rats with chronic alcohol intake. Rats were divided into three groups: the control (C), ethanol (E), and ethanol with β-carotene (E + B) groups. After 10 weeks, results revealed that plasma GOT and GPT activities in group E were significantly higher than those in group C at weeks 6, 8, and 10, but they were significantly lower in group E + B compared to group E at week 10. Plasma total cholesterol (TC) levels in group E were significantly lower than those in the other groups at week 10. When compared to the plasma triglyceride (TG) concentration in group E, those of groups C and E + B were significantly lower at weeks 4, 6, 8, and 10. Furthermore, plasma HDL-C levels in group E + B were significantly higher, by 13%, than those in group E at week 10. On the other hand, the hepatic cholesterol and TG contents of group E were significantly higher, by 33% and 73%, respectively, than those in C group. However, hepatic cholesterol and TG contents in group E + B were significantly lower by 20% and 38%, respectively, compared to those in group E. β-carotene storage was detected in livers of E + B group, and the hepatic retinol content was significantly higher than those in groups C and E by 33% and 51%, respectively. Furthermore, the apparent accumulation of fat within hepatocytes was observed in the ethanol group. Results demonstrate that β-carotene supplementation can prevent alcoholic fatty liver formation by decreasing the plasma TG concentration, and inhibiting the accumulation of cholesterol and TG contents in the liver.