Nutrients (May 2021)

Regulation of Alcohol and Acetaldehyde Metabolism by a Mixture of <i>Lactobacillus</i> and <i>Bifidobacterium</i> Species in Human

  • Su-Jin Jung,
  • Ji-Hyun Hwang,
  • Eun-Ock Park,
  • Seung-Ok Lee,
  • Yun-Jo Chung,
  • Myung-Jun Chung,
  • Sanghyun Lim,
  • Tae-Joong Lim,
  • Yunhi Ha,
  • Byung-Hyun Park,
  • Soo-Wan Chae

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061875
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 6
p. 1875

Abstract

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Excessive alcohol consumption is one of the most significant causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Alcohol is oxidized to toxic and carcinogenic acetaldehyde by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and further oxidized to a non-toxic acetate by aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). There are two major ALDH isoforms, cytosolic and mitochondrial, encoded by ALDH1 and ALDH2 genes, respectively. The ALDH2 polymorphism is associated with flushing response to alcohol use. Emerging evidence shows that Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species encode alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) mediate alcohol and acetaldehyde metabolism, respectively. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial was designed to study the effects of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium probiotic mixture in humans and assessed their effects on alcohol and acetaldehyde metabolism. Here, twenty-seven wild types (ALDH2*1/*1) and the same number of heterozygotes (ALDH2*2/*1) were recruited for the study. The enrolled participants were randomly divided into either the probiotic (Duolac ProAP4) or the placebo group. Each group received a probiotic or placebo capsule for 15 days with subsequent crossover. Primary outcomes were measurement of alcohol and acetaldehyde in the blood after the alcohol intake. Blood levels of alcohol and acetaldehyde were significantly downregulated by probiotic supplementation in subjects with ALDH2*2/*1 genotype, but not in those with ALDH2*1/*1 genotype. However, there were no marked improvements in hangover score parameters between test and placebo groups. No clinically significant changes were observed in safety parameters. These results suggest that Duolac ProAP4 has a potential to downregulate the alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations, and their effects depend on the presence or absence of polymorphism on the ALDH2 gene.

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