Torres-Durán Patricia V, Paredes-Carbajal Ma Cristina, Mascher Dieter, Zamora-González José, Díaz-Zagoya Juan C, Juárez-Oropeza Marco A
Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City.
Arch Med Res. 2006 May;37(4):479-83. doi: 10.1016/j.arcmed.2005.08.005.
Arthrospira maxima has been widely used for nutritional purposes. Additionally, A. maxima has shown immunomodulator, antiviral, antioxidant, vasomotor and hypolipidemic effects in laboratory and animal studies. A. maxima prevents fatty liver induced by either carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) or fructose-rich diet; however, the liver lipid composition in these models is not clearly known yet. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of A. maxima on the liver lipid profile in CCl4-induced steatohepatitis.
A single sublethal, intraperitoneal dose of CCl4 was administered to male Wistar rats fed a diet with or without 5% A. maxima. Liver lipids: total lipids, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol, free fatty acids, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were assessed 24 and 48 h after injury with CCl4. Additionally, triacylglycerols, total cholesterol and aspartate aminotransferase were evaluated in blood.
Forty eight hours after CCl4 treatment, rats fed a diet without A. maxima had serum aspartate aminotransferase and liver triacylglycerols values that were, respectively, 2.2 and 1.4 times higher than those of animals receiving 5% A. maxima in their diet. The same pattern was observed for liver free fatty acids and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. The groups fed a diet with A. maxima and treated with CCl4 showed a higher saturated fatty acid liver content than the groups without A. maxima in their diet. The percentage of unsaturated fatty acids increased 48 h after CCl4 treatment, but its value was 0.5 times lower in the group receiving A. maxima than in the group fed without A. maxima. In the liver, all animals receiving A. maxima showed a trend towards a lower percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, despite the mentioned increase 48 h after CCl4 treatment.
The results suggest that, in the fatty liver induced by CCl4, the hepatoprotective effect of A. maxima involves (a) an antioxidant mechanism and (b) a lower unsaturation of the liver fatty acids. The preventive effect of A. maxima on the liver lipid changes induced by CCl4 could be partially explained by its antioxidant action and the ability to increase the synthesis/release of nitric oxide, but not by its soluble dietary fiber.
极大螺旋藻已被广泛用于营养目的。此外，在实验室和动物研究中，极大螺旋藻已显示出免疫调节、抗病毒、抗氧化、血管舒缩和降血脂作用。极大螺旋藻可预防由四氯化碳（CCl4）或富含果糖的饮食诱导的脂肪肝；然而，这些模型中的肝脏脂质组成尚不清楚。本研究的目的是评估极大螺旋藻对CCl4诱导的脂肪性肝炎中肝脏脂质谱的影响。
对喂食含或不含5%极大螺旋藻饮食的雄性Wistar大鼠腹腔注射单次亚致死剂量的CCl4。在CCl4损伤后24小时和48小时评估肝脏脂质：总脂质、三酰甘油、总胆固醇、游离脂肪酸和硫代巴比妥酸反应性物质。此外，还评估了血液中的三酰甘油、总胆固醇和天冬氨酸转氨酶。
CCl4处理48小时后，喂食不含极大螺旋藻饮食的大鼠血清天冬氨酸转氨酶和肝脏三酰甘油值分别比饮食中含有5%极大螺旋藻的动物高2.2倍和1.4倍。肝脏游离脂肪酸和硫代巴比妥酸反应性物质也观察到相同的模式。喂食含极大螺旋藻饮食并经CCl4处理组的肝脏饱和脂肪酸含量高于饮食中不含极大螺旋藻的组。CCl4处理48小时后不饱和脂肪酸百分比增加，但其值在接受极大螺旋藻的组中比未接受极大螺旋藻饮食的组低0.5倍。在肝脏中，尽管CCl4处理48小时后出现上述增加，但所有接受极大螺旋藻的动物不饱和脂肪酸百分比均有降低趋势。
结果表明，在CCl4诱导的脂肪肝中，极大螺旋藻的肝保护作用涉及（a）抗氧化机制和（b）肝脏脂肪酸较低的不饱和度。极大螺旋藻对CCl4诱导的肝脏脂质变化的预防作用可部分归因于其抗氧化作用以及增加一氧化氮合成/释放的能力，而非其可溶性膳食纤维。
