Metabolic Activity of Desalted Ground Seawater of Jeju in Rat Muscle and Human Liver Cells

Ground seawater in the east area of the volcanic Jeju Island contains abundant minerals. We investigated the metabolic activity of electrodialyzed, desalted ground seawater (EDSW) from Jeju in both cultured cells and animals. The addition of EDSW to the culture medium (up to 20%, v/v) reduced the leakage of lactate dehydrogenase and increased MTT activity in CHO-IR cells. EDSW (10%) promoted insulin-induced glucose consumption in L6 muscle cells as well as the activities of the liver ethanol-metabolizing enzymes, alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase. Moreover, EDSW suppressed palmitate-induced intracellular fat accumulation in human hepatoma $HepG_2$ cells. Activities of AMP-stimulated protein kinase and acetyl CoA carboxylase, enzymes that modulate fat metabolism, were altered by EDSW in $HepG_2$ cells toward the suppression of intracellular lipid accumulation. EDSW also suppressed hepatic fat accumulation induced by a high-fat diet in mice. Taken together, EDSW showed beneficial metabolic effects, including the enhancement of ethanol metabolism and insulin-induced glucose consumption, and the suppression of intrahepatic fat accumulation.