Study: Probiotics Improve Liver Function in Heavy Drinkers

ARKHANGELSK, Russia and LOUISVILLE, Ky.—A joint study by doctors at the Northern State Medical University in Russia and the University of Louisville School of Medicine revealed probiotics improved liver function in heavy drinkers.

The study, published in the December issue of Alcohol, said heavy drinkers given probiotics for five days had better liver function and a higher number of beneficial gut bacteria than subjects given the standard therapy.

Sixty-six adult Russian men who had been admitted to a psychiatric hospital with alcoholic psychosis were enrolled into a prospective, randomized, clinical trial to evaluate the effects of probiotics on bowel flora and alcohol-induced liver injury. The men were randomized to receive five days of treatment with Bifidobacterium bifidum and Lactobacillus plantarum 8PA3, or the standard therapy alone. Twenty four healthy, matched controls who did not consume alcohol were also included in the study. Stool cultures and liver enzyme function were examined for controls and study participants at baseline and after the probiotic and standard therapy.

At baseline, compared to the healthy controls, the alcoholic patients had significantly lower numbers of bifidobacteria, lactobacilli and enterococci. Liver enzymes alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) were significantly raised in the blood of the alcoholic group, compared to the control group, which suggested that they did have some alcohol-induced liver injury.

Compared to the alcoholic patients who received the standard therapy, those who were treated for five days with the probiotic bacteria had a significant increase in the numbers of both bifidobacteria and lactobacilli in their stools. Furthermore, a subgroup of 26 patients with mild alcoholic hepatitis who had been given the probiotic therapy showed a significant end-or-treatment reduction in ALT, AST, GGT, lactate dehydrogenase and total bilirubin, compared with those given the standard therapy.