Heading: Efficacy of Lactic Acid Bacteria Isolated from Winemaking Byproducts in Preventing Alcoholic Liver Injury

The primary cause of liver damage due to alcohol consumption is long-term intake that disrupts normal metabolism. We focused on evaluating the screening of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) derived from winemaking byproducts to prevent alcoholic liver damage. We employed in vitro cell tests to determine the effect of probiotics on reducing cytokine levels (INF-<i>γ</i>, TNF-<i>α</i>, IL-6, IL-8) and alcohol content after LPS-induced inflammation of alcoholic liver cells. We also analyzed the levels of aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) after hepatocyte injury. The results showed that strain tau 2-8 (107) and strain tau 1-1 (107) could maintain a viable count above 6 Log CFU/mL at 20% alcohol concentration. Moreover, strain 3-14 (106) and strain 6-10 (107) effectively reduced AST content in HepG2 cells stimulated by alcohol, with clearance rates of 107 and 105%, respectively. In the animal experiments, feeding single and combination multi-strains at the eighth week resulted in AST levels decrease significantly compared to the alcohol group in serum. Specifically, the single strain 3-14 (106) and the combined multi-strain had better effects, reducing AST levels by 54 and 48%, respectively. Additionally, the serum triglyceride content of the group under an alcoholic diet increased over time, but feeding with lactic acid bacteria resulted in a significant decrease. The glutathione peroxidase enzyme activity of the alcohol group decreased by 31.9% compared to the control group, while feeding with single-strain lactobacillus and combined lactobacillus groups increased significantly. Feeding lactic acid bacteria effectively reduced and improved alcoholic fatty liver and liver damage. In this study, LAB derived from the utilization of winemaking by-products also helps to manage wine industrial waste in an efficient way.