Elucidating the effect of camel α-lactalbumin in modulating obesity-related metabolic disorders in an obese rat model

Abstract

Camel α-Lactalbumin (α-LAC_c) has been shown to exert bioactivities for Reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging and anti-inflammation, showing the ability to treat obesity-related metabolic disorders. Herein, we present a novel process to purify α-LAC_c in a single chromatographic step from camel whey in a flow-through format. We also demonstrate the role of α-LAC_c modulation strategies for the treatment of obesity. An in-vivo study was systematically carried-out, in which an intragastric administration of α-LAC_c in rats experiencing obesity showed ameliorating effect on hepatic steatosis and dyslipidemia. In addition, we demonstrated that the reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress by α-LAC_c was effective, and importantly, the enhancement of antioxidant defenses was achieved. Furthermore, we found that the peroxynitrite scavenging ability of α-LAC_c could help restore the hepatorenal function. Finally, we showed that α-LAC_c could improve insulin resistance-associated glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity disorders caused by obesity. This work has developed a novel one-step purification process of α-LAC_c from camel whey without the use of organic solvents. Our purified α-LAC_c may serve as a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of obesity-related metabolic disorders by synergistically alleviating lipid accumulation, inflammation, oxidative stress and insulin sensitivity.

Keywords: Anti-obesity; Camel α-Lactalbumin; Purification.