Combination of Cysteine and Glutathione Prevents Ethanol-Induced Hangover and Liver Damage by Modulation of Nrf2 Signaling in HepG2 Cells and Mice

Hyeongyeong Kim, Hyung Joo Suh, Ki Bae Hong, Eun Jin Jung, Yejin Ahn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Excessive alcohol consumption increases oxidative stress, leading to alcoholic liver disease. In this study, the protective effects of a mixture of cysteine and glutathione against ethanol-induced hangover and liver damage were evaluated in mice and HepG2 cells. Ethanol (2 mL/kg) was orally administered to the mice 30 min before receiving the test compounds (200 mg/kg), and the behavioral and oxidative stress-related biochemical parameters altered by ethanol were analyzed. Acute ethanol administration increased anxiety behavior and decreased balance coordination in mice (p < 0.001); however, a mixture of cysteine and glutathione (MIX) in a 3:1 ratio improved alcohol-induced behavior more effectively than the individual compounds (p < 0.001). The MIX group showed higher ethanol-metabolizing enzyme activity than the control group (p < 0.001) and significantly suppressed the elevation of serum alcohol (p < 0.01) and acetaldehyde (p < 0.001) levels after 1 h of ethanol administration. In HepG2 cells, 2.5 mM MIX accelerated ethanol metabolism and reduced cytochrome P450 2E1 mRNA expression (p < 0.001). MIX also increased the expression of antioxidant enzymes through the upregulation of nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling and consequently suppressed the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde (p < 0.001). Collectively, MIX alleviates the hangover symptoms and attenuates the alcohol-induced oxidative stress by regulating the Nrf2 pathway.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1885
JournalAntioxidants
Volume12
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023 Oct

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 by the authors.

Keywords

  • antioxidant
  • cysteine
  • ethanol
  • glutathione
  • hangover
  • oxidative stress
  • reactive oxygen species

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Food Science
  • Physiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Clinical Biochemistry
  • Cell Biology

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