Structural characteristics and improved in vitro hepatoprotective activities of Maillard reaction products of decapeptide IVTNWDDMEK and ribose

Here, a novel decapeptide IVTNWDDMEK with Maillard reactivity derived from scallop Chlamys farreri mantle was identified. The structural characteristics and in vitro hepatoprotective effects of IVTNWDDMEK conjugated with ribose were further investigated. The changes in decapeptide structures were determined by ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the modification sites induced by Maillard reaction of IVTNWDDMEK and ribose were monitored by high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). Maillard reaction products (MRPs) of IVTNWDDMEK-ribose demonstrate hepatoprotective benefits through the suppression of DNA damage and apoptosis induced by oxidative stress in human HepG2 cells in addition to enhancing the antioxidant activities. Moreover, after treatment with decapeptide-ribose MRPs, the activities of cellular antioxidative enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and glutathione reductase (GSH-Rx) were remarkably increased, while the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) was decreased compared with H₂ O₂ ^- treated group, thereby enhancing the intracellular antioxidant defenses. These findings demonstrate the potential utilization of decapeptide IVTNWDDMEK-ribose MRPs as food antioxidants to suppress oxidative damage. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: In recent years, several food-derived bioactive peptides and their derivatives are regarded as good dietary antioxidants for reducing oxidative stress and improving liver function. Here, a novel Maillard reactive decapeptide IVTNWDDMEK, identified from scallop mantle hydrolysates by peptidomics in the previous study was synthesized. Then, the correlation between intercellular antioxidant activities and chemical structure changes of IVTNWDDMEK-ribose Maillard reaction conjugates was further studied. The preferable hepatoprotective activities of decapeptide IVTNWDDMEK-ribose MRPs indicated that these MRPs could be potentially utilized as food antioxidants or additives in the production of nutritional foods.

Phenolic Compounds from Carissa spinarum Are Characterized by Their Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Hepatoprotective Activities

Carissa spinarum has been traditionally used for the treatment of various diseases due to its different pharmacological activities. However, the active compounds responsible for its potentially specific activities have rarely been explored. To this end, the ethyl acetate (EA) fraction was screened out and selected for further phytochemical isolation because of its promising activities in preliminary 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and COX-2 inhibition assays. As a result, 10 compounds (1−10), including a new one (5), were isolated, with eight of these being identified as phenolic compounds, as expected. Compound 9 possessed an IC₅₀ value of 16.5 ± 1.2 µM, which was lower than that of positive control (vitamin C, 25.5 ± 0.3 µM) in the DPPH assay, and compounds 2, 6, 7 and 9 showed better total antioxidant capacity than vitamin C in the FRAP assay. Meanwhile, compounds 1−6 and 9 also had IC₅₀ values of less than 1.0 µM, which was even better than the positive control indomethacin in the COX-2 inhibition assay. In this context, compounds 2 and 9 were further evaluated to exhibit clear hepatoprotective activities by improving the L02 cell viability and reducing ROS production using a H₂O₂-induced L02 cell injury model. This study provides initial evidence revealing the most potent phenolic compounds from the root bark of C. spinarum responsible for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activities.

Comparative effect of desflurane and sevoflurane on liver function tests of patients with impaired hepatic function undergoing cholecystectomy: A randomized clinical study

Background and Aim:

Desflurane and sevoflurane are the most common volatile anesthetics used during laparoscopic and hepatic surgery. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of desflurane and sevoflurane in patients with elevated preoperative liver functions undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Methods:

The study was a randomized study and included 162 patients classified randomly into two groups: Desflurane group: The patients received desflurane (end-tidal concentration 4%–6%) as an inhalational agent during the whole procedure. Sevoflurane group: The patients received sevoflurane (end-tidal concentration 2%–4%) as an inhalational agent during the whole procedure. The investigations included serum level of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), and total bilirubin. The values were serially collected at the following timepoints; T0:at the preoperative period, T1:directly after surgery, T2:1^st postoperative day, T3:2^nd postoperative day, T4:3^rd postoperative day, T5:5^th postoperative day, T6:7^th postoperative day, and T7:10^th postoperative day. The statistics were described in terms of mean ± standard deviation, frequencies, and percentages.

Results:

The preoperative liver enzymes and total bilirubin were higher than the normal range in patients of the two groups. Postoperatively, there was a decrease in the AST and ALT with desflurane more than sevoflurane from T1 to T6(P < 0.05). The ALP, GGT, and bilirubin decreased in patients of the two groups, but the comparison was insignificant (P > 0.05).

Conclusion:

The desflurane is a safe inhalational volatile for maintenance of anesthesia in patients with impaired liver function undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. It was associated with a decrease in the liver enzymes more than the sevoflurane.

Paeoniflorin, a Natural Product With Multiple Targets in Liver Diseases-A Mini Review

Paeoniflorin is derived from Paeonia suffruticosa Andr., Paeonia lactiflora Pall., or Paeonia veitchii Lynch and has been used in traditional medical applications for more than 2,000 years. Paeoniflorin is a monoterpenoid glycoside with various effects on liver diseases. Recent studies have revealed that paeoniflorin demonstrates a wide range of activities, including hepatic protection, cholestasis alleviation, liver fibrosis attenuation, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease prevention, and hepatocellular carcinoma inhibition involved in multiple pathways. Moreover, anti-inflammation, antioxidation, and immune regulation with the regulation of TLR4-NF-κB, ROCK/NF-κB, HO-1, mitochondria-dependent as well as HMGB1‐TLR4 signaling pathways are correlated with hepatic protection in liver injury and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Antioxidative mechanisms, anti-inflammation, and hepatic transporter regulation involved in NOX4, PI3K/Akt/Nrf2, NF‐κB, NTCP, BSEP, as well as MRP2 signals are mainly relevant to the anticholestatic effect of paeoniflorin. The inhibition of hepatic stellate cell activation and alleviation of extracellular matrix deposition via vast signals such as mTOR/HIF-1α, TGF-β1/Smads, and JAK2/STAT6 are primarily involved in the antifibrotic effect of paeoniflorin. The regulation of macrophages also contributes to the alleviation effect on liver fibrosis. In addition, the reduction of invasion, metastasis, and adhesion and the induction of apoptosis-related targets, including Bax, Bcl-2, and caspase-3, are related to its effect on hepatocellular carcinoma. The literature indicates that paeoniflorin might have potent efficacy in complex liver diseases and demonstrates the profound medicinal value of paeoniflorin.

Effect of Cynara scolymus and its derivatives on broilers: an updated review

Medicinal plants and their derivatives are human-friendly, nutritional supplements, and their use in the poultry industry is increasing today. Cynara scolymus is a very high-quality antioxidant medicine plant that has recently attracted the attention of poultry and nutrition researchers to supplement their rations and reduce feed costs. In the present study, the effect of powder and extract of C. scolymus on broilers has reviewed. This review shows that the impact of C. scolymus on production performance, carcass characteristics, liver enzymes activity, and meat characteristics of broiler chickens are not significant. However, the negative impact of this compound on these properties has not reported. Moreover, cholesterol levels reduced by the dietary C. scolymus supplementation. The impact of C. scolymus powder and extract on chickens' broiler immunity was not significant in the cited literature, but dietary C. scolymus powder increases Newcastle antibody titers and lowers blood pressure. Dietary C. scolymus under heat stress increased anti-sheep red blood cell titers. No substantial studies have conducted on the effect of C. scolymus on broilers. Therefore, it is not possible to determine a single dosage for the use of C. scolymus powder or extract in broiler diets to the improvement of the broiler characteristics. More researches are needed to determining the appropriate dosage to achieve maximum performance.

Liver protective activity of a hydroethanolic extract of Arrabidaea chica (Humb. and Bonpl.) B. Verl. (pariri)

Background:

Folk medicine uses preparations of Arrabidaea chica (pariri) leaves to treat various liver pathologies. We evaluated the effects of the hydroethanolic extract of these leaves (CHEE) on an in vivo model of liver intoxication.

Materials and Methods:

Different groups of rats were treated orally for 7 days with CHEE at doses of 300, 500 or 600 mg/kg or silymarin at 35 mg/kg. The control group received only 0.5 ml of distilled water. After 7 days of treatment, both the groups received CCl₄, and activities of glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and bilirubin level were assessed. The ability of CHEE to suppress hepatic injury triggered by CCl₄ was evaluated based on suppression (%) of activities of GOT, GPT and bilirubin levels.

Results:

The chromatograms of the CHEE obtained at 330 and 400 nm show features of two main classes of secondary metabolites: quinones and flavonoids. The administration of 300, 500 or 600 mg/kg of CHEE resulted in the reduction of GPT levels by 85.34%, 88.59% and 93.72%, respectively. The suppression of GOT levels was 56.86%, 65.27% and 68.95%, respectively, and that of plasma bilirubin was 83.81%, 83.12% and 84.14%, respectively. These results demonstrate the protective character of CHEE and its ability to maintain the functional integrity of hepatic cells.

Conclusions:

The results obtained are possibly due to the presence of quinones and flavonoids in A. chica CHEE, both detected using high performance liquid chromatography.