Melatonin alleviates Ochratoxin A-induced liver inflammation

On 26 January, 2021, professor Wence Wang from South China Agricultural University published a paper on Journal of Hazardous Materials. The paper titled Melatonin alleviates Ochratoxin A-induced liver inflflammation involved intestinal microbiota homeostasis and microbiota-independent manner

Melatonin (MEL) shows an anti-inflflammatory effffect and regulates intestinal microbiota communities in animals and humans; Ochratoxin A (OTA) induces liver inflflammation through intestinal microbiota. However, it remains to know whether MEL alleviates the liver inflflammation induced by OTA. In this study, MEL reversed various adverse effffects induced by OTA. MEL recovered the swarming and motility of intestinal microbiota, decreased the accumulation of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), enhanced the tight junction proteins of jejunum and cecum segments; ultimately alleviated OTA-induced liver inflflammation in ducks. However, it is worth noting that MEL still had positive effffects on the OTA-exposed ducks after antibiotic treatment. These results suggest that both the maintenance of intestinal microbiota homeostasis and intestinal microbiota-independent manner involved the MEL anti-inflflammatory function in OTA-induced liver inflflammation. MEL represent a promising protective approach for OTA, even other mycotoxins.