Mitigative effect of chlorogenic acid on nitrite-induced liver injury in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella): Focus on oxidative stress and ferroptosis

Intensive aquaculture can easily lead to the accumulation of nitrite in water, and high levels of nitrite can easily cause liver loss in fish. Liver damage can lead to reduced disease resistance and even death in animals. Unfortunately, there is currently a lack of effective mitigation measures for this. In order to alleviate the harm of high levels of nitrite to fish liver and improve fish disease resistance, this study designed to add six different levels of chlorogenic acid (0, 150, 300, 450, 600, 750 mg/kg) to grass carp ( Ctenopharyngodon idella ) feed to investigate the protective effect of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on nitrite induced liver injury in grass carp. The data from this study indicated that: (1) nitrite led to liver oxidative stress by disrupting redox balance and increasing ROS (reactive oxygen species) levels. (2) Nitrite induced liver ferroptosis by disrupting iron homeostasis and promoting the production of lipid peroxides. (3) CGA alleviated nitrite-induced oxidative stress, possibly because CGA maintains liver redox balance by activating the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway. (4) CGA may alleviate lipid peroxidation through the SLC7A11/GSH/GPX4 pathway and maintain iron homeostasis by regulating iron transporters, thereby inhibiting nitrite-induced ferroptosis.