Mediterranean Mussel ( Mytilus galloprovincialis ) Byssus Ameliorates Diet-Induced Metabolic Syndrome in High-Fat High-Sucrose-Fed Rats by Reinforcing Antioxidant Defenses and Attenuating Systemic Inflammation

Byproducts of marine invertebrate-based industries represent an underexplored reservoir of bioactive compounds with therapeutic potential.This study investigated the efficacy of Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) byssus against diet-induced metabolic syndrome, with emphasis on the mechanisms of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.To establish metabolic dysregulation, 24 male Wistar rats were fed a high-fat, high-sucrose diet for 12 weeks, followed by a 28-day intervention with 12% byssus supplementation.Byssus significantly corrected the dyslipidemic profile, reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol while elevating the cardioprotective high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P<0.001).Glycemic control improved significantly, with reductions in fasting and postprandial glucose (P<0.05),accompanied by a favorable downward trend in glycated hemoglobin, while circulating insulin levels remained stable throughout the intervention.Hepatocellular injury was alleviated, as reflected by significant decreases in serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities (P<0.001).These benefits were accompanied by a broad reinforcement of endogenous antioxidant defenses, including a notable upregulation of superoxide dismutase across serum, erythrocytes, and liver, with a significant increase observed at the hepatic level (P<0.05), and robust restoration of hepatic catalase (P<0.01) and glutathione reductase (P<0.001)activities compared to the untreated HFHS group, alongside a substantial recovery of paraoxonase-1 arylesterase activity that approached, though did not fully reach, control levels (P<0.001).Concurrently, tumor necrosis factor- was significantly reduced (P<0.01),alongside a favorable decreasing trend in interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein, reflecting the suppression of chronic inflammation associated with metabolic syndrome.These findings suggest that M. galloprovincialis byssus exerts marked hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and hepatoprotective influence, potentially associated with the reinforcement of redox homeostasis and attenuation of systemic inflammation, supporting its potential as a marine-derived functional ingredient for the adjunctive management of metabolic syndrome.