J Agric Food Chem. 2001 May; 49(5): 2215-21.

Liver injury suppressing compounds from avocado (Persea americana).

Kawagishi H, Fukumoto Y, Hatakeyama M, He P, Arimoto H, Matsuzawa T, Arimoto Y, Suganuma H, Inakuma T, Sugiyama K.

Department of Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Agriculture, Shizuoka University, 836 Ohya, Shizuoka 422-8529, Japan. acksugi@agr.shizuoka.ac.jp

To evaluate the protective activity of fruits against liver injury, 22 different fruits were fed to rats with liver damage caused by D-galactosamine, a powerful liver toxin. As measured by changes in the levels of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), avocado showed extraordinarily potent liver injury suppressing activity. Five active compounds were isolated and their structures determined. These were all fatty acid derivatives, of which three, namely, (2E,5E,12Z,15Z)-1-hydroxyheneicosa-2,5,12,15-tetraen-4-one, (2E,12Z,15Z)-1-hydroxyheneicosa-2,12,15-trien-4-one, and (5E,12Z)-2-hydroxy-4-oxoheneicosa-5,12-dien-1-yl acetate, were novel.