Beneficial Effects of Desalinated Magma Seawater in Ameliorating Thioacetamide-induced Chronic Hepatotoxicity

Mineral water is valued for its potent health benefits. In this study, the hepatoprotective effects of desalinated magma seawater (DMS) containing minerals (9,987 mg/L) were investigated in thioacetamide (TAA)-injected rats. Chronic hepatotoxicity was induced via intraperitoneal injections of TAA (200 mg/kg bw), three times a week for 7 weeks. Rats (n = 10 per group) were allocated as TAA-treated groups fed either a normal chow diet (TAA group) or a chow diet containing 0.91% DMS (TAAL group), 2.05% DMS (TAAH group), or 0.05% silymarin (TAAS group). An additional normal group received the chow diet with vehicle (PBS) injections. Compared with the TAA group, the TAAL, TAAH, and TAAS groups had significantly higher body weights and food intake; however, the TAAH group had lower liver weights (P < 0.05). The TAAH and TAAS groups had higher expression levels of Nrf2, HO-1, and NQO1 proteins (P < 0.05) and lower levels of NF-κB, iNOS, and COX-2 than the TAA group (P < 0.05). Additionally, the protein expression levels of detoxification enzymes CYP2E1, MAT, and GST were higher in the TAAL, TAAH, and TAAS groups than in the TAA group (P < 0.05), as confirmed by histological examination. The severe TAAinduced nuclear damage and collagen accumulation in the hepatocytes improved in the DMS-administered groups, indicating that the hepatotoxicity was alleviated. In conclusion, the minerals in DMS likely ameliorate hepatotoxicity by elevating the liver’s antioxidative and anti-inflammatory status. These DMS effects were dose-dependent, with the effects of 2.05% DMS and 0.05% silymarin being comparable.