1. Academic Validation
  2. Polysaccharide from Mulberry Fruit ( Morus alba L.) Protects against Palmitic-Acid-Induced Hepatocyte Lipotoxicity by Activating the Nrf2/ARE Signaling Pathway

Polysaccharide from Mulberry Fruit ( Morus alba L.) Protects against Palmitic-Acid-Induced Hepatocyte Lipotoxicity by Activating the Nrf2/ARE Signaling Pathway

  • J Agric Food Chem. 2020 Nov 18;68(46):13016-13024. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.9b03335.
Dongwen Hu 1 Tao Bao 1 Yang Lu 1 Hongming Su 1 Huihui Ke 1 Wei Chen 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, People's Republic of China.
  • 2 Ningbo Research Institute, Zhejiang University, Ningbo, Zhejiang 315100, People's Republic of China.
Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the protective effects of three different mulberry fruit polysaccharide fractions (MFP-I, MFP-II, and MFP-III) against palmitic acid (PA)-induced hepatocyte lipotoxicity and characterize the functional polysaccharide fraction using gel permeation chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. MFP-I, MFP-II, and MFP-III were isolated from mulberry fruit by stepwise precipitation with 30, 60, and 90% ethanol, respectively. MFP-II at 0.1 and 0.2 mg/mL dramatically attenuated PA-induced hepatic lipotoxicity, while MFP-I and MFP-III showed weak protection. It was demonstrated that MFP-II not only increased nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) phosphorylation and its nuclear translocation, thereby activating the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway, but also enhanced heme oxygenase 1, NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1, and γ-glutamate cysteine Ligase gene expressions and promoted catalase and Glutathione Peroxidase activities, which protected hepatocytes against PA-induced oxidative stress and lipotoxicity. Further investigation indicated that the molecular weight of MFP-II was 115.0 kDa, and MFP-II mainly consisted of galactose (30.5%), arabinose (26.2%), and rhamnose (23.1%). Overall, our research might provide in-depth insight into mulberry fruit polysaccharide in ameliorating lipid metabolic disorders.

Keywords

Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway; lipotoxicity; mulberry fruit; oxidative stress; palmitic acid; polysaccharide.

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