Preparation of corn glycopeptides and evaluation of their antagonistic effects on alcohol-induced liver injury in rats

[Display omitted] •The peptide from zein was glycosylated with d-glucosamine as an acyl acceptor by transglutaminase.•Glycosylation of the peptide increased its alcohol dehydrogenase activation rate.•The glycopeptides exhibited resistibility to gastrointestinal digestion.•The glycopeptides treatment at 250 mg/kg·bw alleviated alcohol-induced liver injury in rats. New glycosylated zein peptides (GZP) were produced by transglutaminase-induced d-glucosamine conjugation onto zein peptides. GZP’s antagonistic effects on alcohol-induced liver injury in rats were evaluated. Compared with the alcohol model group, GZP (250 mg/kg·bw) remarkably increased alcohol dehydrogenase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, endogenous antioxidant enzymes activities, and GSH levels in liver, decreased serum triacylglycerol, tumor necrosis factor-α, liver malonaldehyde, reactive oxygen species, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) levels, and significantly reversed pathological changes in liver tissues. These results indicate that low-dose GZP administration can alleviate alcohol-induced liver injury by accelerating alcohol metabolism, reversing hepatic redox status, and attenuating LPS-mediated inflammation responses. GZP is a potential alcohol metabolism promoter and liver-protective agent.