Abstract
Excessive alcohol consumption leads to liver disease. Extensive evidence suggests that C-phycocyanin (C-PC), a chromophore phycocyanobilin derived from Spirulina platensis, exerts protective effects against chemical-induced organ damage. In this study, we investigated whether C-PC could protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (CHOL), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), liver homogenate malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) content were measured, and pathological examination of liver sections were examined. C-PC showed obvious inhibitory effects on serum ALT, AST, TG, CHOL, LDL and MDA, and SOD content significantly increased in the liver. The structure of hepatic lobules was clear, liver sinus returned to normal, and liver cell cords were arranged in neat rows. Cloudiness, swelling, inflammatory cell infiltration and spotty necrosis of liver cells were significantly reduced. Therefore, C-PC can significantly protect against ethanol-induced acute liver injury.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arteel G, Marsano L, Mendez C, Bentley F, McClain C J. 2003. Advances in alcoholic liver disease. Best Pract. Res. Clin. Gastroenterol., 17 (4): 625–647.
Bhat V B, Madyastha K M. 2000. C-phycocyanin: a potent peroxyl radical scavenger in vivo and in vitro. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 275 (1): 20–25.
Cohen J I, Chen X C, Nagy L E. 2011. Redox signaling and the innate immune system in alcoholic liver disease. Antioxid. Redox. Signal., 15 (2): 523–534.
Diehl A M. 2002. Liver disease in alcohol abuser: clinical perspective. Alcohol, 27 (1): 7–11.
Eriksen N T. 2008. Production of phycocyanin-a pigment with applications in biology, biotechnology, foods and medicine. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol., 80 (1): 1–14.
Fernández-Rojas B, Hernández-Juárez J, Pedraza-Chaverri J. 2014. Nutraceutical properties of phycocyanin. Journal of Functional Foods, 11: 375–392.
Fernando H, Kondraganti S, Bhopale K K, Volk D E, Neerathilingam M, Kaphalia B S, Luxon B A, Boor P J, Shakeel Ansari G A. 2010. 1H and 31P NMR lipidome of ethanol-induced fatty liver. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34 (11): 1937–1947.
Halliwell B. 1990. How to characterize a biological antioxidant. Free. Rad. Res., 9 (1): 1–32.
Hou Z H, Qin P Y, Ren G X. 2010. Effects of anthocyanin-rich extract from black rice (Oryza sativa L. Japonica) on chronically alcohol-induced liver damage in rats. J. Agric. Food Chem., 58 (5): 3191–3196.
Huang Y S. 2003. Handbook of Implementing Technical Standards for Testing and Assessment of Health Food. Tsinghua Tongfang Electronic Press, Beijing, China. (in Chinese)
Kerial M D J, Waterfield C J, Kenyon S H, Asker D S, Timbrell J A. 1999. Reversal of ethanol-induced hepatic steatosis and lipid peroxidation by taurine: a study in rats. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 34 (4): 529–541.
Lakshman M R. 2004. Some novel insights into the pathogenesis of alcoholic steatosis. Alcohol, 34 (1): 45–48.
Lee M, Kowdley K V. 2012. Alcohol’s Effect on other chronic liver diseases. Clinic s in Liver Disease, 16 (4): 827–837.
Li G L, Ye Y, Kang J J, Yao X Y, Zhang Y Z, Jiang W, Gao M, Dai Y D, Xin Y Q, Wang Q, Yin Z M, Luo L. 2012. L-Theanine prevents alcoholic liver injury through enhancing the antioxidant capability of hepatocytes. Food Chem. Toxicol., 50 (2): 363–372.
Mann R E, Smart R G, Govoni R. 2003. The epidemiology of alcoholic liver disease. A lcohol Research and Health, 27 (3): 209–219.
McKim S E, Konno A, Gäbele E, Uesugi T, Froh M, Sies H, Thurman R G, Arteel G E. 2002. Cocoa extract protects against early alcohol-induced liver injury in the rat. Arch. Biochem. Biophys., 406 (1): 40–46.
Ou Y, Zheng S, Lin L, Jiang Q Z, Yang X G. 2010. Protective Effect of C-phycocyanin against carbon tetrachlorideinduced hepatocyte damage in vitro and in vivo. Chemico-Biological Interactions, 185 (2): 94–100.
Pascual C, Romay C. 1992. Effect of antioxidants on chemiluminescence produced by reactive oxygen species. J. Biolumin. Chemilumin., 7 (2): 123–132.
Patil G, Chethana S, Sridevi A S, Raghavarao K S M S. 2006. Method to obtain C-phycocyanin of high purity. Journal of Chromatography A, 1127 (1-2): 76–81.
Purohit V, Russo D, Coates P M. 2004. Role of fatty liver, dietary fatty acid supplements, and obesity in the progression of alcoholic liver disease: introduction and summary of the symposium. Alcohol, 34 (1): 3–8.
Rehm J, Mathers C, Popova S, et al. 2009. Global burden of disease and injury and economic cost attributable to alcohol use and alcohol-use disorders. Lancet, 373 (9682): 2223–2233.
Romero M J, Bosch-Morell F, Romero B, Rodrigo J, Serra M A, Romero F J. 1998. Serum malondialdehyde: possible use for the clinical management of chronic hepatitis C patients. Free Radic. Biol. Med., 25 (9): 993–997.
Teli M R, Day C P, James O F W, Burt A D, Bennett M K. 1995. Determinants of progression to cirrhosis or fibrosis in pure alcoholic fatty liver. Lancet, 346 (8981): 987–999.
Vitaglione P, Morisco F, Caporaso N, Fogliano V. 2004. Dietary antioxidant compounds and liver health. Crit. Rev. Food Sci. Nut., 44 (7-8): 575–586.
Zhang F, Zhang J L, Li Y. 2012. Corn oligopeptides protect against early alcoholic liver injury in mice. Food Chem. Toxicol., 50 (6): 2149–2154.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Supported by the National Special Research Fund for Non-Profit Marine Sector (No. 201205027) and the Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong Province
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Xia, D., Liu, B., Luan, X. et al. Protective effects of C-phycocyanin on alcohol-induced acute liver injury in mice. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 34, 399–404 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-015-4312-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-015-4312-6