Aim: Gastric mucosal injury is a typical characteristic of gastric diseases. The prevalence of gastric mucosal injury caused by alcohol has been on the rise, which has been considered a serious problem. The purpose of this study is to explore the protective effect on gastric injury of Lactobacillus plantarum  ZS62 (LP-ZS62) isolated from naturally fermented yak yoghurt.
Methods: We established a gastric injury model through alcohol and evaluated the protective effect of LP-ZS62 on gastric injury in mice. The injury to the gastric mucosa, histopathological sections, related biochemical indicators, and related genes were examined to evaluate the protective effect of LP-ZS62.
Results: LP-ZS62 effectively alleviated alcohol-induced gastric injury according to visual observations of gastric tissue and pathological tissue sections. The experimental results revealed that LP-ZS62 decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and elevated superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) levels in gastric tissues. Additionally, LP-ZS62 increased glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and somatostatin (SS) levels. LP-ZS62 also decreased inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-6 levels, and increased the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 level. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction results showed that LP-ZS62 upregulated mRNA expression of nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2), catalase (CAT), gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase (GSH1), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px).
Conclusion: This study confirmed that LP-ZS62 alleviated alcohol-induced gastric injury by regulating antioxidant capacity. Therefore, LP-ZS62 could be developed as a probiotic product to treat alcoholic gastric injury.
Keywords: Lactobacillus plantarum  ZS62, alcohol-induced gastric injury, inflammation, antioxidant