Alteration of gut microbiota composition by short-term low-dose alcohol intake is restored by fermented rice liquor in mice.

Excessive alcohol consumption can increase gut permeability and alter the gut bacterial communities, influencing the pathogenesis of several disorders including alcoholic liver disease, endotoxemia, and systemic inflammation. Although recent studies have highlighted a pivotal role for gut microbiota in alcohol metabolism and alcoholic liver injury, the results have primarily been obtained from binge models treated with physiologically acute dose of alcohol. We sought to investigate the effect of low-dose (0.8 g/kg/day) and short-term (one week) consumption of alcohol on changes in gut microbiota composition in mice. The low-dose consumption of alcohol immediately altered fecal microbiota composition in mice after 1 and 7 days of treatment. We also evaluated the influence of alcoholic beverages containing various microbes using fermented rice liquors (FRLs, called Makgeolli in Korea) on gut microbiota and systemic inflammation. One week of FRLs consumption restored fecal microbiota compositions altered by alcohol administration in mice, with the abundance of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes phyla recovered to levels of the control group. In addition, mice receiving FRLs exhibited increased fecal production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) such as butyric acid and propionic acid within 7 days, and reduced inflammatory responses induced by alcohol administration in the serum and colon. Taken together, these results suggest that short-term and low-dose alcohol intake induces alterations in fecal microbiota composition, and FRLs administration can restore microbial composition and suppress intestinal inflammation, highlighting potential benefits of FRLs as fermented foods.

[Comparative usefulness of erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein in assessing the severity of ulcerative colitis].

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Although erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is included as a laboratory parameter in Truelove and Witts' classification, C-reactive protein (CRP) is also used for severity assessment in ulcerative colitis (UC). Frequently, the discordance between ESR and CRP is observed in clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine which parameter is more related with clinical activity in UC patients. METHODS: A total of 155 patients with UC were identified from January 2004 to March 2005. Their medical records were reviewed within these patients, a total of 541 assessments of disease activity were made. Correlation of clinical activity and laboratory tests were evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficient. RESULTS: Pearson's correlation coefficients of ESR and CRP with clinical symptoms were 0.376 and 0.258, respectively. The correlation coefficient between ESR and CRP was 0.403 (p=0.000). A total of 131 (24.2%) assessments revealed discordance between ESR and CRP. When discordance occurred, the correlation coefficients with clinical symptoms were 0.338 for ESR (p=0.000) and 0.034 for CRP (p>0.01). Dividing discordant patients into high ESR/low CRP group and low ESR/high CRP group, the coefficients were 0.420 for ESR and 0.226 for CRP in high ESR/low CRP group, and 0.333 for ESR and 0.068 for CRP in low ESR/high CRP group. CONCLUSIONS: The correlation analysis indicates that ESR appears to be a more reliable laboratory parameter of disease activity than CRP in assessing the severity of UC. In particular, when the level of ESR and CRP is discordant, ESR is more useful in assessing the disease activity in UC patients.