Animals (Dec 2020)

Administration of Protein Hydrolysates from Anchovy (<i>Engraulis Encrasicolus</i>) Waste for Twelve Weeks Decreases Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease Severity in ApoE<sup>–/–</sup>Mice

  • Jessica M. Abbate,
  • Francesco Macrì,
  • Fabiano Capparucci,
  • Carmelo Iaria,
  • Giovanni Briguglio,
  • Luca Cicero,
  • Andrea Salvo,
  • Francesca Arfuso,
  • Antonio Ieni,
  • Giuseppe Piccione,
  • Giovanni Lanteri

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10122303
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 10, no. 12
p. 2303

Abstract

Read online

Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) includes several diseases, ranging from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis, fibrosis and cirrhosis. Fish-rich diets are considered helpful in the prevention of MAFLD, and the enzymatic hydrolysis of fish waste has been explored as a means of obtaining high-value protein hydrolysates, which have been proven to exert beneficial bioactivities including anti-obesity and hypocholesterol effects. This study aimed to assess the effect of the administration of protein hydrolysates from anchovy waste (APH) for 12 weeks on attenuated high-fat diet-induced MAFLD in apolipoprotein E-knockout mice (ApoE–/–). Thirty ApoE–/– mice were divided into two groups (n = 15/group) and fed a high-fat diet (HFD), with and without the addition of 10% (w/w) APH. After 12 weeks, serum and hepatic lipid profiles, hepatic enzyme activities, liver histology and immunohistochemistry were analyzed to assess hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. Twelve-weeks on a 10% (w/w) APH diet reduces total cholesterol and triglyceride serum levels, hepatic enzyme activity and hepatic triacylglycerol content (p p < 0.0001). The results suggest that a 10% APH diet has an anti-obesity effect, with an improvement in lipid metabolism, hepatic steatosis and liver injury as a result of a high-fat diet. Protein hydrolysates from fish waste may represent an efficient nutritional strategy in several diseases, and their use as nutraceuticals is worthy of future investigation.

Keywords