Purified anthocyanins from Zea mays L. cob ameliorates chronic liver injury in mice via modulating of oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Abstract

BACKGROUND\nPurple corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the main economic crops in China and has been used in treatment of cystitis, urinary infections and obesity. However, purple corncob, the by-products after its processing, appears intense purple black color and is normally disposed as waste or used as animal feed. Therefore, to further expand the medicinal value of purple corncob, the purification and content of the anthocyanins of purple corncob were carried out, and the effect and mechanism of purified purple corncob anthocyanins (PPCCA) on CCl4 -induced chronic liver injury in mice was investigated.\n\n\nRESULTS\nIt was observed that the total anthocyanin content (TAC) from PPCCA (317.51±9.30 mg C-3-G g-1 DW) was significantly higher than that from the purified purple corn seeds anthocyanin (266.73±3.67 mg C-3-G g-1 DW), of which cyanidin 3-O-glucoside (C-3-G) accounted for 90.6% and 90.4% of the TAC, respectively. Furthermore, compared with the CCl4 group, PPCCA treatment significantly reduced liver index, serum total bilirubin (T-Bil), Alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST), and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, but increased liver superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. The pathological changes were also improved, such as more regular arrangement of hepatocytes, less swelling, vacuoles and apoptosis cells. Additionally, mechanistic studies showed that PPCCA down-regulated the expression of Caspase-3, Bax and cytochrome P450 2E1 (CYP2E1) proteins in the liver and up-regulated the expression of Bcl-2.\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nThese results demonstrated that PPCCA could ameliorate CCl4 -induced chronic liver injury by regulating oxidative stress and hepatocyte apoptosis pathways. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.