Purple sweet potato color attenuates oxidative stress and inflammatory response induced by d-galactose in mouse liver

The hepatoprotective effects of purple sweet potato color (PSPC), which is natural anthocyanin food colors, have been well demonstrated in many studies. Nevertheless, little work has been done to clarify the detailed mechanism of hepatoprotective effects of PSPC. This study was designed to explore whether PSPC protected mouse liver from d-gal-induced injury by attenuating oxidative stress or suppressing inflammation. The histology changes of mouse liver was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin staining. The results showed that PSPC could effectively suppress the d-gal-induced histology changes including structure damage and leucocyte infiltration in mouse liver. Oxidative stress and antioxidant status in mouse liver were also analysed. The results showed that PSPC could largely attenuate the d-gal-induced MDA increasing and could markedly renew the activities of Cu, Zn-SOD, CAT and GPx in the livers of d-gal-treated mice. Furthermore, the results of western blot analysis showed that PSPC could inhibit the upregulation of the expression of NF-κB p65, COX-2 and iNOS caused by d-gal. In conclusion, our data suggested that PSPC could protect the mouse liver from d-gal-induced injury by attenuating lipid peroxidation, renewing the activities of antioxidant enzymes and suppressing inflammatory response. This study provided novel insights into the mechanisms of PSPC in the protection of the liver.