Barak A J, Beckenhauer H C, Tuma D J
Liver Study Unit, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68105.
Alcohol. 1994 Nov-Dec;11(6):501-3. doi: 10.1016/0741-8329(94)90075-2.
Earlier studies by other investigators have shown that S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) has the capacity to attenuate liver injury in experimental animals. In a recent study in this laboratory, it was shown that when supplemental dietary betaine was given to control and ethanol-fed rats at the level of 0.50% (W/V), SAM levels were doubled in the livers of control animals and increased fivefold in livers of ethanol-fed rats. The increased levels of SAM in the livers of ethanol-fed animals protected the livers from fatty infiltration due to ethanol feeding. In this study, an attempt was made to determine the minimum level of dietary betaine that protects against the fatty infiltration. Levels of betaine at 0.05%, 0.10%, 0.25%, and 0.50% in semiliquid control and alcohol diets were tested in rats for 30 days. When hepatic betaine, SAM, and triglyceride levels were determined, it was demonstrated that only the dietary level of betaine at 0.50% supplied enough hepatic betaine to generate the level of SAM that was required to protect against the alcoholic steatosis resulting from the dietary ethanol. These results suggest that betaine, when given in sufficient amounts, may be a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of liver disease.
其他研究人员早期的研究表明，S-腺苷甲硫氨酸（SAM）有减轻实验动物肝损伤的能力。在本实验室最近的一项研究中发现，当给对照大鼠和乙醇喂养的大鼠补充0.50%（W/V）的膳食甜菜碱时，对照动物肝脏中的SAM水平翻倍，而乙醇喂养大鼠肝脏中的SAM水平增加了五倍。乙醇喂养动物肝脏中SAM水平的升高保护肝脏免受因乙醇喂养导致的脂肪浸润。在本研究中，试图确定预防脂肪浸润所需的膳食甜菜碱的最低水平。在大鼠的半流质对照饮食和酒精饮食中测试了0.05%、0.10%、0.25%和0.50%水平的甜菜碱，持续30天。当测定肝脏中的甜菜碱、SAM和甘油三酯水平时，发现只有0.50%膳食水平的甜菜碱能提供足够的肝脏甜菜碱，以产生预防膳食乙醇导致的酒精性脂肪变性所需的SAM水平。这些结果表明，给予足够量的甜菜碱可能是治疗肝病的一种有前景的治疗剂。
