α-Lactalbumin ameliorates hepatic lipid metabolism in high-fat-diet induced obese C57BL/6J mice

Abstract

Bovine α-lactalbumin (α-LA) is a critical component of whey protein (WP). It has regulatory effects on obesity, but the regulatory mechanism remains unclear. The present study investigated the beneficial effect of α-lactalbumin (α-LA) on obesity-related hepatic lipid metabolism in high-fat-diet (HFD)-induced obese C57BL/6J mice. The results showed that supplementation with α-LA for 8 weeks improved body weight gain, serum lipids, and hepatic steatosis and alleviated glucose tolerance and insulin resistance in obese mice. Additionally, α-LA upregulated the expression of fatty acid β-oxidation-related genes and downregulated the expression of lipogenesis-related genes in the livers of obese mice. Our study suggested that the benefit of α-LA on improving hepatic lipid metabolism may be mainly associated with the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) pathways in liver tissues. Therefore, α-LA may be used as a dietary therapy for obesity and related metabolic disorders.

Keywords

• α-Lactalbumin
• Obesity
• β-Oxidation
• Hepatic steatosis