Anti-oxidant and natural killer cell activity of Korean red ginseng (Panax ginseng) and urushiol (Rhus vernicifera Stokes) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease of rat

Anti-oxidative and immunologic effects of the Korea red ginseng (KRG; Panax ginseng) and urushiol (Rhus vernicifera Stokes) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) were evaluated. Forty-five rats (five Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka and 40 Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty [OLETF] rats) received chew diets for 10 months; after this period. The OLETF rats were divided into the following four groups according to diet for 2 months: NAFLD (chew), KRG (chew + KRG [200 mg/kg/day]), urushiol (chew + urushiol [0.5 mg/kg/day]), and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) (chew + UDCA [15 mg/kg/day]) groups. Liver function, lipid profiles and anti-oxidant activity of liver and serum, natural killer (NK) cell activity, and pathology were compared. In KRG and urushiol groups, the level of serum triglyceride ([302.0 ± 70.4 and 275.2 ± 63.8] vs. 527.7 ± 153.3 mg/dL) were lower compared with that of NAFLD group (p < 0.05). The levels of HDL-cholesterol (liver tissue: [4.8 ± 0.2 and 4.8 ± 0.5] vs. 4.2 ± 0.2 mg/g) and NK cell activity ([3485 ± 910 and 3559 ± 910] vs. 2486 ± 619 counts) were significantly higher than those of the NAFLD group (p < 0.001). Inflammation with neutrophil infiltration was observed in only two rats in the NAFLD group. These results suggest that 2 months of oral KRG or urushiol administration improves lipid profiles and stimulates NK cell activity, while inhibiting steatohepatitis in OLEFT rats.