Hepatoprotective action of dietary bluefin tuna skin proteins on CCl4-intoxicated mice

摘要

We have shown that dietary bluefin tuna skin (TUS) protects against carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic damage in mice. The CCl4-induced necrotic area was decreased in mice fed a TUS-containing diet. Consistent with the decreased necrotic area, dietary TUS markedly lowered the elevated serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities and the thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) formation induced by CCl4 injection. TUS diets also decreased phosphorylation of inhibitory kappa B-α and blocked the translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B to the nucleus. TUS is composed mainly (80.7 %) of type I collagen, and our results revealed that dietary tuna collagen peptides (TUCP) attenuated the increased hepatic necrotic area, serum AST and ALT activities, and liver TBARS levels induced by CCl4, similar to TUS, thus enabling us to attribute the hepatoprotective action of TUS in CCl4-intoxicated mice to tuna collagen. Therefore, TUS and TUCP may be potential food resources that are capable of alleviating hepatitis symptoms.