Long-Term Consumption of Hyaluronan Increases Its Endogenous Levels Correlating with Attenuated Acute Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury

Inflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in alcohol-induced liver injury. Hyaluronan (HA), a naturally occurring polysaccharide proven to exhibit antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions, has garnered growing research attention in the field of food in recent years. This study demonstrates that long-term oral administration of HA exerts a protective effect against acute alcohol-induced liver injury (AALI). The findings showed that oral administration of 30, 600, and 1250 kDa HA for 2 and 4 weeks all increased serum and liver HA levels in rats and regulated the composition and abundance of gut microbiota. Meanwhile, oral HA could alleviate the symptoms of liver injury caused by alcohol, including increasing glutathione (GSH) levels, reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) and triglyceride (TG) levels, and decreasing the content of inflammatory factors interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) compared with the AALI model mice. Furthermore, HA could inhibit the increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in AML12 cells induced by alcohol and improve the survival rate of alcohol-damaged AML12 cells. In conclusion, this study found that oral administration of HA could increase serum and liver HA levels and has a protective effect on AALI, suggesting the application of HA in health foods for hangover relief and liver protection.