Whey and its inhibition of liver enzymes

Abstract

Whey is lately used as functional food, and whey proteins and albumens are considered to have therapeutic influence on diseases associated with oxidative stress. Whey proteins contribute to the reduction of the level of transaminases in blood, especially of alanine transaminase. In this paper we examine some components (total proteins, albumens from whey proteins, minerals: potassium (K), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P), from whey and their inhibition effects to transaminases (alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and γ glutamyl transferase (γ -GT)). The increased level of transaminases in serum is an indicator of an illness of the liver. Additionally, several samples of whey were examined by using a photometric and spectrophotometric method. The results from examination of ALT, AST and γ -GT in vitro show that whey performed inhibition on the activity of these enzymes: ALT 10.71%, AST 8.51% and γ -GT 18.16% in pathological serum, and in serum with normal values, whey performed inhibition on ALT 39.33%, AST 29.08%, γ - GT 39.59%. The examination of the whey composition shows that the proteins represented in sufficient quantity to make reduction of enzymes and of the mineral potassium (K) is the most common. From the obtained results can be concluded that whey impacts on the reduction of transaminases and performs inhibition of enzyme activity in the in vitro test.

Keywords

• whey
• transaminase
• whey proteins
• alanine aminotransferase
• liver enzyme