Characterization and identification of charcoal of inedible Kerandang fish (Channa pleurophthalmus Blkr) body parts and potential antiallergenic properties

BACKGROUND AND AIM: The study about the antiallergenic properties of inedible fish body parts is still limited. Therefore, this study aimed to characterize the charcoal from the body parts of Kerandang fish (Channa pleurophthalmus Blkr) and identify its antiallergenic properties. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study used some non-edible body parts extracted from the Kerandang fish (i.e., the scalp, scales, and dorsal, pectoral, ventral, anal, and caudal fins) using a maceration method with different solvents (ethanol, ethyl acetate, and chloroform). The identification of active compounds in the extract was carried out using liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) analysis, while the antihyaluronidase activity was determined using the antihyaluronidase test. The highest charcoal antihyaluronidase activity-extract was applied to ovalbumin-induced mice for 7 days with various doses (10, 15, and 20 mg/kg). The specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) was measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay on day 8. RESULTS: Our LC-HRMS analysis showed that the active compound of charcoal in the caudal fins of Kerandang fish was hexadecanamide. The highest inhibition (IC(50)) of hyaluronidase was found in the ethyl acetate extract of fish caudal fins at a concentration of 4 mg/mL. We found that 15 mg/kg body weight of charcoal of fish caudal fins suppressed IgE expression in male mice. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the charcoal of non-edible body parts of Kerandang and one of its constituent, hexadecanamide, may have strong antiallergic effects.