RESUMO
In this study, ß-conglycinin (100 mg/kg) was orally administered to Wistar rats in order to identify peptides that may be derived from the protein in the blood. Plasma samples taken from the tail vein up to 8 h after administration were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) and liquid chromatography-time-of-flight (LC-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS). In total, 126 signals were detected by MALDI-MS. Among the signals, nine oligopeptides (SEL, KGPL, SILGA, DSEL, GDANI, SYFV, CLQSC, GEQPRPF, and LVINEGDA) were successfully identified as ß-conglycinin-derived peptides by LC-TOF/MS at a plasma concentration of 0.75-756 pmol/mL. The results demonstrated that ß-conglycinin could be the dietary source protein for the oligopeptides produced prior to entering the circulating bloodstream of rats.