Comment on: Oleanolic acid co-administration alleviates ethanol-induced hepatic injury via Nrf-2 and ethanol-metabolizing modulation (sic) in rats

To the Editor: Alcohol induced hepatic oxidative stress and inflammation is known to cause liver injury. An increase in reactive oxidative species (ROS) from alcohol consumption leads to oxidative stress [1]. This can activate the inflammatory cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α which promote liver injury. Both IL-6 and TNF-α are activated and transcribed by the inflammatory molecule, NFκB [2]. We read the interesting paper by Liu et al., entitled, “Oleanolic acid co-administration alleviates ethanol-induced hepatic injury via Nrf-2 and ethanol-metabolizing modulating in rats”, published in your journal recently [3]. The authors demonstrated that oleanolic acid can reduce hepatic injury by elevating Nrf-2 related antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and increase ethanol metabolism. We believe that the mechanism of modulating these signalling pathways could be important for understanding the protective effects of oleanolic acid.