A B S T R A C T
Excessive iron accumulation is highly toxic to various tissues. Acetylated whey peptides (AWP) obtained from bovine milk have a powerful iron chelating and immunomodulation effect. This study was performed on iron overload (IO)-induced rats’ spleen model and announced that AWP can act as a potent prophylactic, natural, affordable, oral and safe iron chelator and can be used as an alternative to the current synthetic drugs. Moreover,
it can alleviate oxidative stress and downregulate the proinflammatory markers. The results showed that AWP significantly decreased serum iron, splenic ferritin, oxidative stress markers (ROS, iNOS, and HO-1), and inflammatory markers (IL-6, IL-1β, and NF-κB). Histopathological examination declared that AWP reduced splenic iron deposition and improved histopathological changes in iron-overloaded rats. Immunohistochemical examination showed a significant decrease in macrophage markers (CD68 and CD163) expressions. The efficacy of AWP was compared to that of N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) and both of them showed no significant difference.