Dietary Tuna Dark Muscle Protein Attenuates Hepatic Steatosis and Increases Serum High‐Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Obese Type‐2 Diabetic/Obese KK‐Ay Mice

Abstract

Tuna muscle consists of light and dark muscle in approximately equal proportions. However, besides for the light muscle of tuna, cod, sardine, and salmon, few researches have assessed the health-promoting functions of fish protein. Therefore, we evaluated the mechanisms underlying the alteration of lipid storage and cholesterol metabolism following the intake of tuna dark muscle protein (TDMP) by obese type-2 diabetic/obese mice. Four-week-old male KK-Ay mice were separated into 2 dietary groups, with one group receiving a casein-based diet and the other receiving a diet with the substitution of part of the protein (50%, w/w) by TDMP (TDMP diet) for 4 wk. The TDMP diet significantly increased the content of serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, partly due to the reduction of the expression of scavenger receptor class B member 1 in epididymal white adipose tissue. In addition, dietary TDMP decreased the content of hepatic triacylglycerol, which could be due to the enhancement of carnitine palmitoyltransferase-2 activity through the activation of the expression of the peroxisome proliferative activated receptor-α in the liver. These results suggest that TDMP could have the potential to prevent the development of obesity-related diseases by suppressing the storage of hepatic triacylglycerol and cholesterol.