Antihepatotoxic effect of corn peptides against Bacillus Calmette-Guerin/lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury in mice

Hepatitis is a severe disease with a high incidence rate around the world [Hwang, J.M., Tseng, T.H., Tsai, Y.Y., Lee, H.J., Chou, F.P., Wang, C.J., Chu, C.Y., 2005. Protective effects of baicalein on tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced hepatic toxicity in rat hepatocytes. J. Biomed. Sci. 12, 389–397]. Corn gluten meal is a byproduct of starch industry with abundant protein. However, the application of corn protein is limited because of its low solubility and short of essential amino acids such as lysine and tryptophan. The hepatoprotective activity of corn peptides (CP) from corn gluten meal hydrolysate was evaluated against Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced immunological liver injury (ILI) in mice. Results showed that ILI was manifested by a significant increase in levels of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and liver malondialdehyde (MDA)/nitric oxide (NO) levels (p < 0.01), and by a significant decrease in levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD)/glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and glutathione (GSH) in liver (p < 0.01). Pretreatment of mice with CP reversed these altered parameters to normal values. The effect of CP was further demonstrated by histopathological examination of liver sections. The best hepatoprotective effect of CP treatment was observed at the dose of 600 mg/kg bw, which was evidenced from biochemical parameters and liver histopathological characters. Results of this study revealed that CP could afford a significant protection against BCG/LPS-induced hepatocellular injury. It will broaden the application and increase the value of corn gluten meal, byproduct from starch industry.