Corn peptides improved obesity-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through relieving lipid metabolism, insulin resistance and oxidative stress (2024)

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Now, let's delve into the article titled "Corn peptides improved obesity-induced non-alcoholic fatty liver disease through relieving lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress," published in the journal Food & Function.

The study, conducted by Kang Wei, Yang Wei, Weidong Xu, Feng Lu, and Haile Ma, hails from the School of Food and Biological Engineering at Jiangsu University in Zhenjiang, China, and the School of Agriculture and Biology at Shanghai Jiaotong University in Shanghai, China. Haile Ma serves as the corresponding author and can be reached at mhl@ujs.edu.cn.

Article Overview:

The article addresses the escalating health threat of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and explores the potential of corn peptides (CPs) as bioactive peptides for liver protection. The study investigates the efficacy of CPs in preventing and treating high-fat diet-induced NAFLD in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats, using puerarin as a positive control.

Methodology:

1. Experimental Models:

   • SD rats were fed a high-fat diet to establish the NAFLD rat model.
   • LO2 cells were treated with a high concentration of fructose to simulate the NAFLD cell model.

2. Examination Parameters:

   • NAFLD was comprehensively examined, including body weight, liver function markers, serum biochemistry, and liver histology.

Results:

In Vivo (Animal Experiments):

1. CPs were found to:
   • Effectively inhibit weight gain.
   • Reduce blood lipid levels and liver index.
   • Enhance glucose tolerance.

In Vitro (Cell Experiments):

1. CPs demonstrated effectiveness in:

   • Reducing lipid accumulation in LO2 cells.
   • Inhibiting the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

2. CPs also:

   • Markedly reduced liver lipid accumulation in both liver cells and tissues.
   • Reduced expression of SREBP-1c in human non-tumour hepatic (LO2) cells.

Molecular Mechanisms:

1. Protein Expression Analysis:
   • Western blot analysis revealed increased expression of SIRT1/PPAR-α and Nrf2/HO-1 pathways under CP pretreatment.
   • Indicating CPs' potential in relieving high-fat-induced fatty liver injury, regulating insulin sensitivity, and reducing ROS production.

Conclusion:

The study concludes that CPs have significant potential in preventing and assisting in the treatment of NAFLD by reducing lipid accumulation, alleviating insulin resistance, and inhibiting oxidative stress. The research contributes to understanding the biological activity of CPs and lays the theoretical foundation for the development of CP-based functional foods and dietary supplements.

The article, published in Food & Function, is available under the DOI: . It was submitted on 19 Jan 2022, accepted on 25 Mar 2022, and first published on 01 Apr 2022.