Background : Excess alcohol consumption can lead to alcoholic liver damage and gastritis. Korean thistle (Cirsium japonicum var. maackii) has been reported that it’s administration protective from liver from lipid accumulation and toxicity. Also, Korean dandelion (Taraxacum coreanum Nakai) has been traditionally used for treating various inflammation-related diseases including ethanol-induced gastritis. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the combination treatment of Korean thistle and Korean dandelion could regulate alcoholic liver damage and gastritis in mice. Methods and Results : Seven-week-old mice were treated with ethanol (5 g/㎏ of body weight) by gavage every 12 h for a total of three doses to induce acute liver damage and gastritis. Ethanol extract of Korean thistle, Korean dandelion or combination was gavaged simultaneously with ethanol for three doses. The results showed that the combination treatment of Korean thistle and Korean dandelion significantly inhibited alcohol-induced increase of serum alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase levels, liver weight, and hepatic caspase-3 expressions. Hepatic histopathological changes induced by alcohol were also remarkably improved by the combination treatment. The combination treatment inhibited alcohol-induced Morphological changes of gastritis and attenuated the expressions of pro-inflammatory protein, such as inducible nitric oxide synthase. Conclusion : The results of our study suggest that the combination treatment of Korean thistle and dandelion may simultaneously alleviate acute alcohol-induced gastritis and liver damage.

Mouse의 CCl4에 의한 급성간장해에 있어서 마늘분말은 농도의존적으로 간세포보호효과, 간독성억제효과를 갖는 것이 인정되었으며, 이러한 결과는 GOT, GPT등의 혈청학적 수치의 결과와 일치하였다. 그러나 마늘 extract 투여군에서의 간장 보호효과는 마늘분말보다도 미약하고 오히려 고농도 투여군인 10ml/kg 투여군에 비하여 저농도투여군인 1ml/kg에서 보다 뚜렷한 간장보호효과가 관찰되어 마늘 extract에 관한 약효, 약리작용에 관한 검토 및 독성에 관한 연구가 보다 필요한 것으로 사료되었다.