Taify Pomegranate Juice (TPJ) Abrogates Acrylamide-Induced Oxidative Stress Through the Regulation of Antioxidant Activity, Inflammation, and Apoptosis-Associated Genes

Ahmed M El-Shehawi; Samy Sayed; Mohamed M Hassan; Saad Al-Otaibi; Fayez Althobaiti; Mona M Elseehy; Mohamed Soliman

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.833605

Taify Pomegranate Juice (TPJ) Abrogates Acrylamide-Induced Oxidative Stress Through the Regulation of Antioxidant Activity, Inflammation, and Apoptosis-Associated Genes

Front Vet Sci. 2022 Mar 22:9:833605. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.833605. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Ahmed M El-Shehawi¹, Samy Sayed², Mohamed M Hassan³, Saad Al-Otaibi¹, Fayez Althobaiti¹, Mona M Elseehy⁴, Mohamed Soliman⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biotechnology, College of Science, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
² Department of Science and Technology, University College-Ranyah, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
³ Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Alexandria, Alexandria, Egypt.
⁵ Clinical Laboratory Sciences Department, Turabah University College, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Acrylamide (ACR) has various effects on biological systems, including oxidative stress and its associated metabolic disorders. Previous research reports that plants growing at high altitude have a different profile of antioxidants. In the current report, the Taify pomegranate juice (TPJ) of the Taify pomegranate growing at the Taif region (high altitude), Saudi Arabia, was investigated for its protective activity from ACR-induced oxidative stress. Rats were treated with ACR, TPJ, or TPJ+ACR, and various assays, including blood chemistry, liver function biomarkers, gene expression of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, oxidative stress regulatory genes, inflammation biomarkers, and apoptosis, were estimated using biochemical, real-time PCR, histopathological, and immunohistochemical analysis. TPJ showed a protective function of ACR-induced alteration of AST, ALT, GGT, urea, total proteins, albumin, MDA, and NO. It also increased the level of the endogenous antioxidative enzymes, including SOD, catalase, and GSH. It showed anti-inflammatory activity by reduction the TNF-α, IL-6 secretion and the enhancing of IL-10 levels. At the gene expression level, TPJ upregulated the expression of endogenous antioxidant genes (SOD and catalase) and of antioxidant-regulating genes Nrf2 and HO-1; downregulated the expression of inflammatory genes TGF-β1, COX2, and the apoptotic gene caspase-3; and upregulated the expression of antiapoptotic gene Bcl2. At the histological level, TPJ showed a protective effect from the ACR-induced hepatic histological damage. Results of this study conclude that TPJ has a protective effect from ACR-induced oxidative stress and its associated metabolic alterations through its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.

Keywords: acrylamide (Acr); antioxidant; liver dysfunction; oxidative stress; pomegranate juice.