Abstract:Cereal proteins have been proven to be beneficial to the alleviation of metabolic diseases. However, the function of foxtail millet protein against liver injury is lack of research. This study investigated whether the intake of diet containing raw or cooked foxtail millet proteins could protect mice from D-galactosamine induced acute liver injury and how cooking affected the protective efficiency of foxtail millet proteins. A significant decrease of serum aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels was observed in mice fed with foxtail millet protein diets. Besides, foxtail millet proteins ameliorated lipid metabolism disorders in mice with acute liver injury as evidenced by significantly lower serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL-C) and liver TG. Notably, AST, ALT, MDA and serum lipid concentrations including serum TC, TG and LDL-C in raw or cooked foxtail millet proteins group were significantly lower than those in cooked foxtail millet protein group due to the amino acids contents reduction after cooking. In conclusion, foxtail proteins could prevent acute liver injury of mice and cooking would weaken its protective effect. Overall, foxtail millet protein can be used as a functional food component towards acute liver injury prevention even after the cooking process.