Broccoli sprout extract containing sulforaphane attentuated alcohol-induced oxidative stress and endoplasmic reticulum stress through restoration of antioxidant enzyme function in mice. - GreenMedInfo Summary

The potential efficacy of sulforaphane in protecting alcohol-induced hepatic injury in vivo and its underlying mechanism were investigated. Male C57BL/6 mice were orally administrated with broccoli sprout extract (BSE) containing sulforaphane [7.6, 25.2, and 50.4 mg/kg of body weight (bw)] once a day for 14 days. At the 13th day, mice were challenged with alcohol (5 g/kg of bw) every 12 h for 3 times, which increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels (4.44± 1.24 nmol/mg of protein, p<0.01) in the liver. Our results showed that low-, medium-, and high-dose BSE markedly reversed the decrease of antioxidant capacity through enhancing glutathione (GSH) (2.07± 0.31 mg/g of protein, p<0.05; 2.31± 0.32 mg/g of protein, p<0.01; and 2.46± 0.21 mg/g of protein, p<0.01), superoxide dismutase (SOD) (483.20± 62.76 units/mg of protein; 500.81 ± 49.82 units/mg of protein, p<0.05; and 605.00±<64.32 units/mg of protein, p<0.01), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) (318± 60.74 units/mg of protein; 400.67 ± 72.47 units/mg of protein, p<0.01; and 394.72± 62.97 units/mg of protein, p<0.01), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) (31.84± 6.34 units/mg of protein, p<0.05; 30.34± 6.40 units/mg of protein, p<0.05; and 38.08± 7.05 units/mg of protein, p<0.01) in the liver. The protective actions are also associated activation of phase 2 enzymes via nuclear erythoriod-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2). The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress-specific proteins, such as glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), activating transcription factor 6, and protein kinase RNA (PKR)-like ER kinase (PERK), were also significantly attenuated by BSE. These results indicate that BSE protects the liver against alcohol challenge via upregulating antioxidant capacity and downregulating ER stress.