Antioxidant activity of a Lachnum YM226 melanin-iron complex and its influence on cytokine production in mice with iron deficiency anemia.
The present study aims to investigate the protective effects of an orally administered Lachnum YM226 melanin-iron complex (LM-Fe) against iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in mice. The IDA mouse model was established by feeding mice with iron-deficient food. Different doses of LM-Fe were given to the anaemic mice via intragastric administration, with FeCl3 and FeSO4 used as positive controls. After the iron supplement administration, it was observed that LM-Fe could significantly improve the decreased haemoglobin (Hb) level, and normalize the serum iron (SI) level, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) and serum ferritin (SF) of the anaemic mice in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, treatment with LM-Fe significantly increased the antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxidase dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in plasma to normal or better. Furthermore, the levels of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were obviously decreased in the LM-Fe supplemented groups compared with the model group, while the level of interleukin-2 (IL-2) was significantly increased. In conclusion, LM-Fe was efficient at ameliorating the anemia symptoms, improving the activities of antioxidant enzymes and adjusting the immune dysfunction of anaemic mice. Thus, these results demonstrated that LM-Fe might be exploited as an efficient and multifunctional iron supplement.