Abstract: Objective To investigate the protective effect of Hainan fresh coconut water on alcoholic liver injury in rats. Methods Hepatic injury in rats was induced by daily administration of white spirit with alcohol concentraion of 56% by gavage for 29 days. Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into model group （n=9）,control group （n=8） and coconut water group （n=9）. The animals in control was given 0.9% saline and in experimental group was given alcohol plus Hainan fresh coconut water. At the end of the experiment,the rats were sacrificed and blood and livers were collected. The histopathological change in liver was revealed by HE staining and the levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）,aspartate aminotransferase （AST）,triglyceride （TG） in blood and the content of superoxidedismutase（SOD） and malondialdehyde（MDA） in hepatic homogenates were detected. Results Serum AST levels in model group was （123.0±36.2） U/L,significantly higher than that in control group [（86.5±21.0） U/L,P<0.05] or in coconut water group [（96.9±26.0） U/L,P<0.05];there was no significant differences in serum ALT and TG levels among the three groups （P>0.05）;the MDA level in model group was higher than that in control group or in coconut water group [（0.479±0.069） nmol/mg vs. （0.258±0.078） nmol/mg and（0.311±0.139） nmol/mg,P<0.01 for both];the SOD levels in coconut water group and model group were higher than in control group[（0.068±0.008） U/mg and （0.071±0.010） U/mg vs. （0.044±0.022） U/mg,P<0.05 for both],but there was no difference in SOD level between coconut water group and model group;Mild fatty degeneration of hepatocytes was observed in model group and fat droplet were found from hepatocytes in centrilobular regions with some hepatic congestion,however,the histology in coconut water group revealed regular hepatic lobules with intact and distinct hepatocyte structure. Conclusion Hainan fresh coconut water has certain protective effect against alcoholic liver injury in rats,and its antioxygenation might be involved in this process.

Key words: Alcoholic liver disease, Coconut water, Oxidative stress, Rats