Abstract: In this paper, the protective effect of chitooligosaccharides (COS) on acute alcohol-induced liver injury was studied. A mouse model of acute liver injury was established by administering 50% ethanol at a dose of 12 mL/kg mb to mice after 30 continuous days of oral gavage with COS. The mice were sacrificed for histopathological examination of liver tissue. Besides, the activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total cholesterol (TC) concentration in serum, liver coefficient, and glutathione (GSH) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in liver were detected. The results showed that the degree of liver injury in the COS group was mitigated compared with the alcohol model group. The positive control and COS groups exhibited a significant reduction in serum ALT, AST and TC levels and a significant increase in hepatic GSH content and SOD activity as well as a significant decrease in liver index and MDA level (P < 0.05). Therefore, chitooligosaccharides has a significant protective effect on alcohol-induced liver injury in mice.

Key words: chitooligosaccharides, acute alcohol-induced liver injury, protective effect