In vivo assessment of the protection conferred by β-glucans from Pleurotus ostreatus against the harmful effects of acrylamide intake (Part I)

Introduction: acrylamide is formed in food through Maillard's reaction during thermal processing, and has been shown to be neurotoxic in humans, and a possible carcinogen. Studies have shown that β-glucans from Pleurotus ostreatus have diverse biological properties such as antioxidant and anticancer activities. Objective: the aim of this work was to evaluate the protective effect of β-glucans from Pleurotus ostreatus against the harmful effects of acrylamide consumption in mice. Methods: β-glucans were obtained by alkaline-acid hydrolysis of Pleurotus ostreatus, and the content was characterized by liquid chromatography. To evaluate the effect of β-glucans on the expression of glutathione, Balb/c mice were used, and 4 test groups were established. All groups were fed normally, and the groups treated with acrylamide were administered the compound intragastrically at a concentration of 50 g/mL; β-glucans were administered at a concentration of 50 g/mL. Results: mice exposed to acrylamide showed a marked variation in the activity of glutathione enzymes in the liver. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were only found in the expression of glutathione transferase, which was increased almost 3 times in the group treated with β-glucans as compared with the control group, and 1.5 times as compared with the group treated with acrylamide. Conclusions: the results show that β-glucans could act by increasing the activity of enzymes involved in xenobiotic detoxification, thus protecting the biological system against the harmful effects caused by acrylamide intake.