Animal experiments show that specific probiotics "symbiotics" can help protect the liver

Liver disease has always been Taiwan's number one national disease. The latest animal experiment research published by Taipei Medical University pointed out that the symbiotic substance of "5 kinds of probiotics + inulin (natural fructooligosaccharide)" can reduce the inflammatory response in animals and effectively improve alcoholic liver disease. The new findings of this research have also been published in the Italian United Societies.

Dr. Yang Suqing (left) pointed out that the symbiotic composition of "5 types of probiotics + inulin (natural fructooligosaccharide)" can reduce the body's inflammatory response and effectively improve alcoholic liver disease. (Photo courtesy of Taipei Medical University)

Yang Suqing, professor of the Department of Health and Nutrition at Taipei Medical University, pointed out that the five high-quality probiotics, namely Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Rhizoctonia solani, and Streptococcus thermophilus, are added with inulin as a source of nutrition for the growth and reproduction of probiotics, which can promote the stable survival rate of probiotics and make them more active.

According to health statistics from the Department of Health, Executive Yuan, various liver diseases claim the lives of more than 10,000 people each year, with an average of 34 people dying from liver diseases every day, including viral hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, fulminant hepatitis, and even cirrhosis and liver cancer. The incidence of alcoholic hepatitis has gradually increased with the increase in alcohol intake among Chinese people. Experts point out that long-term continuous drinking can cause damage to liver function, leading to alcoholic hepatitis damage and even affecting the normal functioning of the intestines.

Yang Suqing said that from the perspective of repairing intestinal function, he hopes to understand the impact of the symbiotic substances of "probiotics + inulin (natural fructooligosaccharide)" on the recovery and reorganization of liver function. After 12 weeks of animal experiments, the research team found that symbiotic substances indeed inhibited the growth of bad bacteria in the intestines of rats that had been consuming alcohol for a long time, increased the number of probiotics in the intestines, and successfully promoted metabolism in the liver, effectively reducing triglycerides in the liver by more than 70%, and reducing serum endotoxin concentrations by 174%.

In addition to significantly reducing the oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver, pathological sections also showed obvious repair of liver tissue damaged by alcohol. Therefore, it can be confirmed that the symbiotic substance of "probiotics + inulin (natural fructooligosaccharide)" has a health-care effect on the body that goes beyond past cognition, and can further improve the damage of alcohol to liver cells and effectively protect liver function.