Hemostatic Activity of Orally Administered Melanin from Cuttlefish Ink Sacs in a Rat Tail-Bleeding Model
- 1Shaanxi Provincial Bioresource Key Laboratory, College of Biological Science and Engineering, Shaanxi Province Black Organic Food Engineering Technology Research Center, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong 723000, China
- 2Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1955 East-West Road, AgSci. 415J, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
- 3State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
Abstract
Cuttlefish ink sac is an underutilized marine processing by-product with considerable potential for value-added conversion into functional ingredients. In this study, high-purity cuttlefish melanin (HCM) was isolated from cuttlefish ink sacs, and its hemostatic activity, safety, and intestinal metabolites were investigated to support its functional application. SEM-EDS analysis shows that HCM consisted of black spherical nanoparticles enriched in calcium and magnesium. Multi-technique characterization (UV–Vis, FTIR, XPS, and Raman) confirmed the material as melanin, with characteristic optical absorption, surface functional groups, and elemental composition. In a rat tail-bleeding model, HCM significantly reduced blood-loss volume and shortened bleeding time, indicating promising hemostatic activity in vivo. To explore the underlying mechanism, intestinal metabolites of HCM were characterized by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS-based metabolomics. TXA and ACA were detected in the intestinal contents following HCM administration. Additionally, HCM released Ca2+ and Mg2+, which may contribute to regulating coagulation. Consistently, HCM significantly shortened prothrombin time and increased fibrinogen levels, while other coagulation parameters remained within the normal range. These results suggest that HCM may exert hemostatic effects through dual pathways involving fibrinolysis inhibition and coagulation promotion. Overall, this study provides mechanistic insight into the hemostatic activity of cuttlefish melanin and supports the high-value utilization of cuttlefish ink sac by-products as a source of marine-derived functional ingredients.
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BibTeX
@article{han2026hemostatic,
title = {{Hemostatic Activity of Orally Administered Melanin from Cuttlefish Ink Sacs in a Rat Tail-Bleeding Model}},
author = {Hao Han and Haobo Yuan and Yuanyuan Wang and Yuting Tan and Ching Yuan Hu and Qingbin Guo},
journal = {Molecules},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/molecules31203654},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/20/3654},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Hemostatic Activity of Orally Administered Melanin from Cuttlefish Ink Sacs in a Rat Tail-Bleeding Model
AU - Hao Han
AU - Haobo Yuan
AU - Yuanyuan Wang
AU - Yuting Tan
AU - Ching Yuan Hu
AU - Qingbin Guo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - Molecules
DO - 10.3390/molecules31203654
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/31/20/3654
AB - Cuttlefish ink sac is an underutilized marine processing by-product with considerable potential for value-added conversion into functional ingredients. In this study, high-purity cuttlefish melanin (HCM) was isolated from cuttlefish ink sacs, and its hemostatic activity, safety, and intestinal metabolites were investigated to support its functional application. SEM-EDS analysis shows that HCM consisted of black spherical nanoparticles enriched in calcium and magnesium. Multi-technique characterization (UV–Vis, FTIR, XPS, and Raman) confirmed the material as melanin, with characteristic optical absorption, surface functional groups, and elemental composition. In a rat tail-bleeding model, HCM significantly reduced blood-loss volume and shortened bleeding time, indicating promising hemostatic activity in vivo. To explore the underlying mechanism, intestinal metabolites of HCM were characterized by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS-based metabolomics. TXA and ACA were detected in the intestinal contents following HCM administration. Additionally, HCM released Ca2+ and Mg2+, which may contribute to regulating coagulation. Consistently, HCM significantly shortened prothrombin time and increased fibrinogen levels, while other coagulation parameters remained within the normal range. These results suggest that HCM may exert hemostatic effects through dual pathways involving fibrinolysis inhibition and coagulation promotion. Overall, this study provides mechanistic insight into the hemostatic activity of cuttlefish melanin and supports the high-value utilization of cuttlefish ink sac by-products as a source of marine-derived functional ingredients.
SN - 1420-3049
ER -