Protective effect of cordycepin-enriched Cordyceps militaris on alcoholic hepatotoxicity in Sprague–Dawley rats

• Hepatoprotective effect of cordycepin-enriched Cordyceps militaris (CCMα) was investigated.
• CCMα reduced alcohol-induced elevation of AST, ALT, γ-GTP, ALP and LDH.
• CCMα increased hepatic activities of alcohol metabolizing enzymes.
• CCMα can be a promising candidate to prevent from alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity.

This study was to investigate the protective effect of cordycepin-enriched Cordyceps militaris against alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity in Sprague–Dawley rats. Alcohol-feeding rats were fed diets with Paecilomyces japonica as CPJ group, C. militaris as CCM group, cordycepin-enriched C. militaris as CCMα group at the 3% (w/w) level and silymarin at the 0.1% (w/w) level for 4 weeks. Alcohol administration resulted in a significant increase in the activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and the levels of blood alcohol and acetaldehyde in serum. However, CCMα group markedly prevented from alcohol-induced elevation of these parameters in serum. CCMα group showed the increased both hepatic activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). Unlike the action of alcohol treatment on alcoholic fatty liver, CCMα group was also attenuated lipid droplet accumulation in the hepatocytes. Present study was also confirmed the beneficial roles of silymarin (hepatoprotective agent) against alcohol-induced liver injury in rats. Therefore, cordycepin-enriched C. militaris can be a promising candidate to prevent from alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity.