ABSTRACT
This is to report the study of degradation of earthworm extracts prepared by wet superfine grinding in simulated gastrointestinal environment. Enzymatic reactions were terminated by adjusting the solution pH or using membrane bioreactor principle. Earthworm protein concentration change was detected by Bradford method, the degraded state of protein was described with SDS-PAGE technology, and the degraded state of small molecule substances was detected by HPLC. The results showed that earthworm protein degraded completely in artificial gastric juice. High molecular weight protein degraded greatly in artificial intestinal fluid, while low molecular weight protein was not significantly degraded. Small molecular substances degradation did not degrade in artificial gastric juice, while they degraded obviously in artificial intestinal fluid, there is even new small molecule substance appeared. Finally it is concluded that the substance that having therapeutic effects in vivo may be some degraded peptide, amino acid and stable small molecules existed in artificial intestinal fluid.