In Vitro Protective Effect of Paste and Sauce Extract Made with Protaetia brevitarsis Larvae on HepG2 Cells Damaged by Ethanol

Abstract

We made paste and sauce using protein-rich Protaetia brevitarsis larvae (PBL) and evaluated their fermentation levels. After pretreatment with the paste and sauce extracts, HepG2 cells were damaged with ethanol (EtOH), and then the effects of the paste and sauce were evaluated. As a result, we confirmed that the PBL paste and sauce extracts reduced the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransaminase (ALT) content in the medium as compared to soybean (Glycine max) sauce and paste extracts. In addition, the PBL paste and sauce extracts significantly lowered the level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-6, which are biomarkers of inflammation, and significantly increased the inhibition rate of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and reduced glutathione (GSH), which are antioxidative indicators, in proportion to the amount of PBL added to the paste and sauce. These results suggest that an intake of PBL paste and sauce, a novel type of fermented food made from insects, may be effective for liver protection through anti-inflammatory and antioxidative effects against hepatocyte injury caused by EtOH.

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis Derived Protein Isolate with Enhanced Osteomodulatory and Antioxidative Property

“…We chose to exclude 2% PPI from our study henceforth, since the 2% PPI extract showed a slight decrease in cell viability. Our result is in accordance with the previously reported antioxidative property of P. brevitarsis protein extracts reported under varying extraction processes [ 45 ].…”

Microflora for improving the Auricularia auricula spent mushroom substrate for Protaetia brevitarsis production

“…The harvested PBLs are edible and contain high-quality protein and lipid components ( Ghosh et al., 2017 ; Kim et al., 2017 ), and they are also used as a traditional medicine in China and Korea. The compounds or extracts from PBLs with these health-related properties have been characterized by using experimental animal models or cell culture ( Lee et al., 2013 , 2017a , 2021 ; Im et al., 2018 ; Ahn et al., 2019 ; Ganguly et al., 2020 ; Hwang et al., 2020 ; Krishnan et al., 2020 ; Seo et al., 2021 ). In addition, the PBL-produced frass is also a high-value product; it is a high-quality organic fertilizer with high humic acid (HA) levels and is beneficial for plant growth ( Li et al., 2019 ).…”