title: Maltol, a food flavoring agent, attenuates acute alcohol-induced oxidative damage in mice.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of maltol, a food-flavoring agent, on alcohol-induced acute oxidative damage in mice. Maltol used in this study was isolated from red ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A Meyer) and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and mass spectrometry. For hepatoprotective activity in vivo, pretreatment with maltol (12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg; 15 days) drastically prevented the elevated activities of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and triglyceride (TG) in serum and the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) in liver tissue (p < 0.05). Meanwhile, the levels of hepatic antioxidant, such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were elevated by maltol pretreatment, compared to the alcohol group (p < 0.05). Histopathological examination revealed that maltol pretreatment significantly inhibited alcohol-induced hepatocyte apoptosis and fatty degeneration. Interestingly, pretreatment of maltol effectively relieved alcohol-induced oxidative damage in a dose-dependent manner. Maltol appeared to possess promising anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory capacities. It was suggested that the hepatoprotective effect exhibited by maltol on alcohol-induced liver oxidative injury may be due to its potent antioxidant properties.
authors.affiliation: College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China. hanye@jlau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China. xuqi@jlau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, Institute for Advanced Study, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China. hujiangning@ncu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiang-ning
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China. hanxinyue@jlau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xin-yue
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: College of Chinese Medicinal Materials, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China. w.li@jlau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: The Affiliated Ruikang Hospital, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530011, China. hyzlc@163.com.
authors.forename: Li-chun
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000410:Alanine Transaminase / Q000097:blood; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D005421:Flavoring Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase / Q000097:blood; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000097:blood; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D011753:Pyrones / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000097:blood; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D005421:Flavoring Agents; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011753:Pyrones; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D014280:Triglycerides; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; C008316:maltol; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D005979:Glutathione Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases; D000410:Alanine Transaminase