Suppressive effect of corn bran hemicellulose on liver injury induced by D-galactosamine in rats

Objective It is well known that the indigestible oligo- and polysaccharides including dietary fiber are important food components and that they have many physiologic functions. This study examined the effect of water-soluble corn bran hemicellulose (CBH) on the development of D-galactosamine (GalN) hepatitis in rats to obtain some knowledge about new functions of dietary fiber. Methods Male Wistar rats were fed diets containing 5% CBH for various days (1 to 14 d). On the final day of feeding rats were treated with GalN (400 mg/kg), and their plasma transaminase (aspartate and alanine aminotransferases) activity (6 or 24 h later) and liver glutathione concentration (6 h later) were determined. Results Ingested CBH suppressed the increase in plasma aspartate and alanine aminotransferase activities 24 h after GalN treatment. Such suppressive effect was observed only 7 d after CBH ingestion and not after 1 or 3 d. In the early phase of the liver injury, at 6 h after GalN treatment, the liver glutathione concentration in the CBH group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the concentration in the CBH group after GalN injection was almost the same as that in the control group without GalN treatment. Conclusion Results suggest that dietary CBH suppresses the development of hepatic injury by GalN in rats and that this phenomenon is partly attributable to the increase in hepatic glutathione concentration by CBH.