Hepatoprotective Effect of Inonotus obliquus Melanins: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Abstract

© 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. The purpose of this study is to identify hepatoprotective properties of melanins from aqueous extracts of Inonotus obliquus distinguished by microwave modes used in extraction in both in vitro and in vivo studies. In vitro tests were used in studies of the effect of Chaga mushroom melanins on the vitality of cells of a normal human hepatocyte line Chang Liver, as well as their hepatoprotective effect and influence on the cell cycle. The hepatoprotective effect was studied in the context of the influence of the toxicant d-galactosamine, at a concentration of 150 mM. The results show that the melanin of the aqueous extract of Chaga, obtained in the process of microwave-assisted extraction at 180 W, at concentrations of 10−5 and 10−3 g/l, displays a hepatoprotective effect, as it increases the vitality of cells under the toxic influence of d-galactosamine by 2–2.5 times. In vivo tests were used in studies of the hepatoprotective properties of the melanin of the aqueous extract of Chaga obtained in the process of microwave-assisted extraction at 180 W on white male Sprague Dawley rats. The melanin was administered to rats for 14 days at a dose of 100 mg/kg. Toxic damage was inflicted on the liver using carbon tetrachloride on days 5 to 12 of administering the melanin; the liver was studied and the blood biochemical parameters were determined on day 15. It was shown that melanin produces a hepatoprotective effect which is expressed in the minimization of liver injury signs such as steatosis, necrosis, fat accumulation, and normalization of the total and unconjugated bilirubin, total protein, serum cholinesterase, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase levels.