Abstract: To develop safe and effective alcohol detoxification and hepatoprotective products, this study screened 25 lactic acid bacterial isolates for ethanol-degrading and antioxidant activities, prepared a composite postbiotic of Pediococcus acidilactici and Acetobacter pasteurianus, and evaluated its protective effect against acute alcoholic liver injury in mice. P. acidilactici Lab2 was selected for robust ethanol tolerance, high degradation efficiency, and excellent antioxidant activity in terms of ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl radical (DPPH), and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) cation radical scavenging capacities. A mouse model of acute alcoholic liver injury was established and intervened with a 4:1 (V/V) composite postbiotic of P. acidilactici Lab2 and A. pasteurianus AS1.41. Results showed that the composite postbiotic significantly reduced liver index, alleviated hepatocellular edema and steatosis, and enhanced hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activities to promote ethanol metabolism. Meanwhile, it mitigated oxidative stress by increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities, elevating glutathione (GSH) content, and decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. It also reduced serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), and total cholesterol (TC) levels, thus improving liver function and ameliorating lipid metabolism disorders. Therefore, this composite postbiotics exhibited significant anti-hangover and hepatoprotective efficacy, which provides a theoretical basis for the development of novel anti-hangover products.

Key words: postbiotics; alcoholic liver injury; anti-hangover and hepatoprotective; Pediococcus acidilactici; Acetobacter pasteurianus