An antioxidant that may help avoid damage to the liver caused by excessive drinking has been identified, which scientists say could pave the way for latest treatments to reverse steatosis or fatty deposits in the liver that can guide to cirrhosis and cancer. Researchers at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB) found that the antioxidant, called mitochondria-targeted ubiquinone, or MitoQ, has been effective in interrupt and neutralising free radicals in alcoholics' livers before they can injure the organ.
For their study, published in the journal Hepatology, the researches introduce MitoQ to the mitochondria an organelle which change energy into forms that are usable by the cell of rats who were given alcohol each day for five to six weeks in an amount enough to mirror excessive intake in a human. Chronic alcoholics, those who drink to excess every day, skill a buildup of fat in the liver cells. When alcohol is metabolised in the liver, it creates free radicals that injure mitochondria in the liver cells and prevent them from using sufficient amounts of oxygen to create energy.
For their study, published in the journal Hepatology, the researches introduce MitoQ to the mitochondria an organelle which change energy into forms that are usable by the cell of rats who were given alcohol each day for five to six weeks in an amount enough to mirror excessive intake in a human. Chronic alcoholics, those who drink to excess every day, skill a buildup of fat in the liver cells. When alcohol is metabolised in the liver, it creates free radicals that injure mitochondria in the liver cells and prevent them from using sufficient amounts of oxygen to create energy.
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