Buckwheat Honey Attenuates Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Liver and DNA Damage in Mice.

Ni Cheng,Wei Cao,Jianbin Zheng,Liming Wu

doi:10.1155/2015/987385

Abstract

Buckwheat honey, which is widely consumed in China, has a characteristic dark color. The objective of this study was to investigate the protective effects of buckwheat honey on liver and DNA damage induced by carbon tetrachloride in mice. The results revealed that buckwheat honey had high total phenolic content, and rutin, hesperetin, and p-coumaric acid were the main phenolic compounds present. Buckwheat honey possesses super DPPH radical scavenging activity and strong ferric reducing antioxidant power. Administration of buckwheat honey for 10 weeks significantly inhibited serum lipoprotein oxidation and increased serum oxygen radical absorbance capacity. Moreover, buckwheat honey significantly inhibited aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase activities, which are enhanced by carbon tetrachloride. Hepatic malondialdehyde decreased and hepatic antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase) increased in the presence of buckwheat honey. In a comet assay, lymphocyte DNA damage induced by carbon tetrachloride was significantly inhibited by buckwheat honey. Therefore, buckwheat honey has a hepatoprotective effect and inhibits DNA damage, activities that are primarily attributable to its high antioxidant capacity.

Highlights

The liver plays important roles in metabolism, secretion, excretion, and biotransformation
The results presented in the table were expressed as the mean values ± standard deviation (SD) for 3 replications
To study the antioxidant activity, the Total Phenolic Content (TPC) and individual phenolic compounds of buckwheat honey were determined, and the results are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1

Summary

Introduction

The liver plays important roles in metabolism, secretion, excretion, and biotransformation. Oxidative stress, which is involved in the pathogenesis of liver diseases, leads to hepatic damage [1]. Antioxidants such as silymarin, tocopherol, and betaine have desirable effects in patients with liver disease [2,3,4]. Numerous studies have shown that polyphenol extract from natural products with high scavenging radical activity and strong reducing power could attenuate CCl4-induced liver damage [7,8,9]. Our previous studies have proven that bee pollen extract rich in phenolic compounds increases antioxidant potential in mice and protects against CCl4induced liver damage [10]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion