Fermented Protaetia brevitarsis Larvae Ameliorates Chronic Ethanol-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Mice via AMPK and TLR-4/TGF-β1 Pathways

Abstract

This study evaluated the hepatoprotective effect of fermented Protaetia brevitarsis larvae (FPB) in ethanol-induced liver injury mice. As a result of amino acids in FPB, 18 types of amino acids including essential amino acids were identified. In the results of in vitro tests, FPB increased alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activities. In addition, FPB treatment increased cell viability on ethanol- and H 2 O 2 -induced HepG2 cells. FPB ameliorated serum biomarkers related to hepatoxicity including glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, glutamine pyruvic transaminase, total bilirubin, and lactate dehydrogenase and lipid metabolism including triglyceride, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Also, FPB controlled ethanol metabolism enzymes by regulating the protein expression levels of ADH, ALDH, and cytochrome P450 2E1 in liver tissue. FPB protected hepatic oxidative stress by improving malondialdehyde content, reduced glutathione, and superoxide dismutase levels. In addition, FPB reversed mitochondrial dysfunction by regulating reactive oxygen species production, mitochondrial membrane potential, and ATP levels. FPB protected ethanol-induced apoptosis, fatty liver, and hepatic inflammation through p-AMP-activated protein kinase and TLR-4/NF-κB signaling pathways. Furthermore, FPB prevented hepatic fibrosis by decreasing TGF-β1/Smad pathway. In summary, these results suggest that FPB might be a potential prophylactic agent for the treatment of alcoholic liver disease via preventing liver injury such as fatty liver, hepatic inflammation due to chronic ethanol-induced oxidative stress.

Fermented Protaetia brevitarsis Larvae Improves Neurotoxicity in Chronic Ethanol-Induced-Dementia Mice via Suppressing AKT and NF-κB Signaling Pathway

“…In this study, in the results of the analysis of the composition of fatty acids in FPB, palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid were the major fatty acids detected ( Table 1 ). Consistent with our study, previous studies have reported that the essential amino acid and unsaturated fatty acid contents of P. brevitarsis larvae were higher than those of other edible insects such as Tenebrio molitor and Allomyrina dichotoma [ 18 , 19 ]. Human studies have reported a significantly reduced risk of cognitive decline and dementia in a population sample with high consumption of dietary unsaturated fatty acids such as PUFA and MUFA [ 21 ].…”

“…However, few studies using P. brevitarsis larvae fermented with Bacillus subtilis ( B. subtilis ) have been reported. In our previous study, P. brevitarsis larvae were fermented with the beneficial microorganism B. subtilis to increase their utility as food and to increase the amino acid content [ 18 ]. The results confirmed that the content of free amino acids, including essential amino acids, increased compared to another previously reported study [ 19 ].…”

Hepatoprotective Effect of Allium ochotense Extracts on Chronic Alcohol-Induced Fatty Liver and Hepatic Inflammation in C57BL/6 Mice

“…Serum alcohol and acetaldehyde concentrations were measured using commercial kits (Megazyme Int., Bray, Ireland). AUC was measured using the trapezoidal method (for the time interval of the obtained blood samples) [ 43 , 44 ].…”

“…The control and NS groups were provided drinking water the same way. After eight weeks of treatment with sample and alcohol, experimental animals were sacrificed for serum analysis and evaluation of fatty liver-related biomarkers, and blood was collected from the abdominal vena cava and liver was obtained [ 43 ].…”

“…In addition, to investigate reduced GSH content, 10 mM phosphate buffer with 1 mM ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) corresponding to a 10-fold volume of liver tissue was added and homogenized. The protein concentration of the homogenized and centrifuged samples was calculated according to the Bradford method [ 43 ].…”