Combined Effects of Amino Acids in Garlic and Buna-Shimeji (Hypsizygus marmoreus) on Suppression of CCl(4)-Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

The combination of the garlic-derived amino acid, S-allyl-l-cysteine sulfoxide (ACSO), and ornithine or arginine on CCl(4)-induced hepatic injury was examined. After investigating the effectiveness of the mixture of ACSO and ornithine or arginine in preventing hepatic injury in vivo, an extract rich in ACSO and ornithine was prepared by converting arginine in garlic to ornithine by arginase from Hypsizygus marmoreus (buna-shimeji), after screening the productivity of ornithine among 12 kinds of mushrooms. Co-administration of ACSO with ornithine or arginine suppressed the increase in aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance, and the decrease in glutathione S-transferase and cytochrome p450 2E1 activities after CCl(4) injection more effectively than a single administration of ACSO. All extracts prepared from garlic and buna-shimeji with low and high contents of ACSO and arginine or ornithine significantly suppressed CCl(4)-induced hepatic injury in rats. Considering that ACSO is tasteless, odourless, and enhances taste, and ornithine has a flat or sweet taste and masks bitterness, the extract rich in ACSO and ornithine from garlic and buna-shimeji could be considered a potential antioxidant food material that can be added to many kinds of food to prevent hepatic injury.