Evaluating the efficacy of a ferrous-ion-chelating peptide from Alaska pollock frame for the improvement of iron nutritional status in rats.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of ferrous-ion-chelating peptides from Alaska pollock frames (APFP-Fe) on iron deficiency in anaemic rats. We hydrolysed the Alaska pollock frames to obtain a peptide with an average molecular weight of 822 Da. The bioavailability of APFP-Fe was tested using animal experiments. Wistar rats were randomly divided into six groups: an iron deficiency control group, a normal control group, and iron deficiency groups treated with ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) or low-, medium-, or high-dose APFP-Fe. Rats in the iron deficiency groups were fed an iron-deficient diet to establish the iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) model. After the model was established, different iron supplements were given to rats once per day via intragastric administration for 21 days. The results showed that APFP-Fe had restorative effects, returning the body weight, weight gain, height, and haematological parameters in IDA rats to normal levels. In addition, compared with FeSO4, APFP-Fe promoted significant weight gain and effectively improved haemoglobin, serum iron and transferrin levels, and recovery of the capacity of iron binding with transferrin, especially at the medium and high doses. These findings suggest that APFP-Fe is an effective source of iron for improving the iron nutritional status in IDA rats and shows promise as a new source of iron supplementation.

Physical properties and antioxidant activity of gelatin-sodium alginate edible films with tea polyphenols.

Active edible films were prepared by incorporating tea polyphenols (TP) into gelatin and sodium alginate. The effects of 0.4%-2.0% TP (w/w, TP/gelatin) on physical, antioxidant, and morphological properties of gelatin-sodium alginate films were evaluated. Tensile strength (Ts), contact angle (CA), and cross-linking degree showed an enhanced trend as TP concentration in the film increased, whereas elongation at break (EAB) and water vapor permeability (WVP) possessed a decline trend. The light transmittance of the film was decreased by the incorporation of TP. Antioxidant capacity was improved by increasing TP content in the films. For DPPH and ABTS radical, the films with 2.0% TP possessed the highest values of 90.62 ±â€¯2.48% and 53.36 ±â€¯1.06 Trolox (mg Trolox equivalent/g film), respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses (FTIR) indicated the interactions existed between gelatin­sodium alginate and TP. Smooth and continuous surface and dense internal structure of the films with TP were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thus, incorporating TP into gelatin and sodium alginate film solution was an effective method in order to improve physical properties and antioxidant activity of the films. Gelatin-sodium alginate films with TP could be used as an edible film for food packaging applications.

A novel calcium-binding peptide from Antarctic krill protein hydrolysates and identification of binding sites of calcium-peptide complex.

Trypsin was used for preparing peptides with high calcium-binding capacity from Antarctic krill. Hydroxyapatite chromatography (HAC), size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), and reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) were used to capture and purify calcium-binding peptides. The peptide sequence was determined to be VLGYIQIR (N- to C-terminal, MW = 960.58 Da), using LTQ Orbitrap XL. According to the results of FTIR and mass spectrometry, chelating site of calcium ions may possibly involve the carbonal or amino groups of Gln, Ile and Arg residues. Molecular dynamic simulation showed the conformation of peptide was markedly varied, and the distance between calcium ion and Gln and Ile residues was changing all the time. However, the distance between calcium ion and carboxyl oxygen of arginine residues was not changed significantly from 2 ns to 100 ns. Identified peptide can be used as a novel calcium supplement.

Effects of early enteral nutrition supplemented with collagen peptides on post-burn inflammatory responses in a mouse model.

The effect of early enteral nutrition (EN) supplemented with Alaska pollock skin-derived collagen peptides (CPs) on post-burn inflammatory responses was investigated in a mouse model. Male blab/c mice were randomly assigned to four groups: a sham burn (SB) group, a control group (burn + EN + glycine, BE), a positive control group (burn + EN + glutamine, BEG) and a treatment group (burn + EN + CPs, BEC). Burn-induced increases of serum endotoxin level, and systemic and intestinal concentration of TNF-α and IL-6 were attenuated in BEG and BEC at post-burn day (PBD) 1, 3 and 7 (p < 0.05 vs. BE). Notably, BEC revealed a prominent decrease of the serum endotoxin level, TNF-α and IL-6 as compared to BEG at PBD 7 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, EN supplemented with CPs diminished the phosphorylation of intestinal NF-κB p65 and simultaneously down-regulated the mRNA expression of TNF-α and IL-6 in small intestine (p < 0.05 vs. BE). Also, it demonstrated a comparable effect with glutamine in ameliorating post-burn inflammatory responses in mice with burns. Therefore, CPs could be considered as a potential immunonutrient supplement in EN to improve post-burn outcomes in burn patients.

Antithrombotic activity of oral administered low molecular weight fucoidan from Laminaria Japonica.

INTRODUCTION: Fucoidans extracted from brown algae have been documented to have excellent antithrombotic activity when administered by either intravenous or subcutaneous route in animal models. However, it is unknown if the fucoidans also have antithrombotic activity when administered orally, a highly desirable feature of oral antithrombotic agents. In the present study, we compared the oral absorption, bioavailability and antithrombotic activity of two fucoidan fractions from Laminaria japonica with different molecular weight by oral administration in an electricity induced arterial thrombosis model and the underlying molecular mechanisms. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: After a single dose of oral administration, the fucoidan content in plasma and urine in rats was assessed using the reverse-phased HPLC analysis of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone (PMP)-labeled fucose. The fucose content in the low molecular weight (LMW) fucoidan-treated rats increased up to 2-fold and peaked at 15h, indicating that the LMW fucoidan had much better absorption and bioavailability than the MMW fucoidan in vivo. Oral administration of the LMW fucoidan at 400 and 800mg/kg for 30days inhibited the arterial thrombosis formation effectively induced by electrical shock in rats, accompanied by moderate anticoagulation activity, regulation on TXB2 and 6-keto-PGF1α, significant antiplatelet activity and effective fibrinolysis. The LMW fucoidan showed better oral absorption and antithrombotic activity in addition to different antithrombotic mechanisms compared to those of the medium molecular weight (MMW) fucoidan. Thus, the LMW fucoidan has a potential to become an oral antithrombotic agent.

Effects of collagen and collagen hydrolysate from jellyfish umbrella on histological and immunity changes of mice photoaging.

Jellyfish collagen (JC) was extracted from jellyfish umbrella and hydrolyzed to prepare jellyfish collagen hydrolysate (JCH). The effects of JC and JCH on UV-induced skin damage of mice were evaluated by the skin moisture, microscopic analyses of skin and immunity indexes. The skin moisture analyses showed that moisture retention ability of UV-induced mice skin was increased by JC and JCH. Further histological analysis showed that JC and JCH could repair the endogenous collagen and elastin protein fibers, and could maintain the natural ratio of type I to type III collagen. The immunity indexes showed that JC and JCH play a role in enhancing immunity of photoaging mice in vivo. JCH showed much higher protective ability than JC. These results suggest that JCH as a potential novel antiphotoaging agent from natural resources.

[Chemical constituents contained in Salvia castanea].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate chemical constituents contained in Salvia castanea. METHOD: The compounds were separated and purified by silica gel, macroporous resin, RP-C18 and Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography. The structures were identified on the basis of physicochemical property and spectral data. RESULT: Nineteen compounds were separated and identified as tanshinone II(A) (1) , tanshinone II(B) (2), hydroxytanshinone II(A) (3), tanshinone I(4), dihydrotanshinone I(5), cryptotanshinone (6) , neotanshinone A(7) , neotanshinone B(8) , tanshinoldehyde(9), przewaquinone A(10), przewaquinone B(11), sugiol(12), caffeic acid(13), rosmarinci acid(14), ethylrosmarinate(15), lithospermic acid(16), pro-lithospermic acid ( 17) , protocatechualdehyde (18), and danshensu(19). CONCLUSION: Compounds 2, 3, 7-13 and 15-19 were separated from S. castanea for the first time.

Two new C13-norisoprenoids from Solanum lyratum.

Two new C(13)-norisoprenoids, named lyratols E and F (1-2), were isolated from the whole plant of Solanum lyratum Thunb, and their structures were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analyses. In vitro, two new compounds were found to show significant cytotoxicity against selected cancer cells including P-388 and HT-29.

Acute and subchronic toxicity of danshensu in mice and rats.

Danshensu (3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) lactic acid), a natural phenolic acid, is isolated from Salvia miltiorrhiza root, and is the most widely used traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. It has been reported to have potential protective effects from oxidative injury. However, there is a little information about its possible toxicity. In this study, acute and subchronic toxicity of danshensu in mice and rats have been evaluated. In the acute study, danshensu intraveniouslly administered to rats failed to induce any signs of toxicity or mortality up to a maximum practical dosage of 1500 mg/kg body weight. Test substance administered acutely to mice caused dose-dependent general behavior adverse effects and mortality with the medial lethal dose of 2356.33 mg/kg. The no observed adverse effect level and the lowest observed adverse effect level were 1835 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg, respectively. In the subchronic study, rats were tested by daily intraperitoneal injection of danshensu at the doses of 50, 150, and 450 mg/kg for 90 days, resulting in no mortality, no changes in body weight, food consumption, hematological and serum chemistry parameters, organ weights, or gross pathology or histopathology. The only treatment-related finding was transient writhing response observed in the 450 mg/kg group after administration.

Effects of collagen and collagen hydrolysate from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) on mice skin photoaging induced by UV irradiation.

Collagen (JC) was extracted from jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) and hydrolyzed to prepare collagen hydrolysate (JCH). The protective effects of JC and JCH against UV-induced damages to mice skin were evaluated and compared in this article. JC and JCH could alleviate the UV-induced abnormal changes of antioxidative indicators, including the superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and catalase (CAT) activities and the contents of glutathione (GSH) and malondiaidehyde (MDA). JC and JCH could protect skin lipid and collagen from the UV radiation damages. Furthermore, the changes of total ceramide and glycosaminoglycan in skin were recovered significantly by JC and JCH. The action mechanisms mainly involved the antioxidative properties and the repairing to endogenous collagen synthesis of JC and JCH in vivo. JCH with the lower molecular weight showed much higher effects than JC. The results indicated that JCH was a novel antiphotoaging agent from natural resources.

Optimization of antioxidant activity by response surface methodology in hydrolysates of jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) umbrella collagen.

To optimize the hydrolysis conditions to prepare hydrolysates of jellyfish umbrella collagen with the highest hydroxyl radical scavenging activity, collagen extracted from jellyfish umbrella was hydrolyzed with trypsin, and response surface methodology (RSM) was applied. The optimum conditions obtained from experiments were pH 7.75, temperature (T) 48.77 degrees C, and enzyme-to-substrate ratio ([E]/[S]) 3.50%. The analysis of variance in RSM showed that pH and [E]/[S] were important factors that significantly affected the process (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively). The hydrolysates of jellyfish umbrella collagen were fractionated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and three fractions (HF-1>3000 Da, 1000 Da

Anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity of sophocarpine.

AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to assess the anti-nociceptive and anti-inflammatory activity of sophocarpine in rodents. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The anti-nociceptive effect was evaluated in two experimental animal models and anti-inflammatory effect in three animal models, and sophocarpine was given by tail vein injection for the above study. RESULTS: Pretreatment with a single dose of sophocarpine (20 and 40 mg/kg) produced dose-dependent anti-nociceptive effects in thermally and chemically induced mouse pain models. Pretreatment with a single dose of sophocarpine also produced significant dose-dependent anti-inflammatory effects on carrageenan-induced rat hind paw edema (15 and 30 mg/kg), xylene-induced mouse ear edema (20 and 40 mg/kg) and acetic acid-induced mouse vascular permeation (20 and 40 mg/kg). CONCLUSIONS: Sophocarpine possesses peripheral and central analgesic properties as well as anti-inflammatory activity on acute inflammatory processes.

A novel ACE inhibitory peptide isolated from Acaudina molpadioidea hydrolysate.

Body wall protein from the sea cucumber (Acaudina molpadioidea) was hydrolyzed sequentially with bromelain and alcalase. The hydrolysate was fractionated into two ranges of molecular weight (PH-I, >2 kDa; PH-II, <2kDa) using an ultrafiltration membrane bioreactor system. The PH-II brought about a high angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity. An ACE inhibitory peptide was isolated from the PH-II, using the chromatographic methods including gel filtration, ion-exchange chromatography and reversed phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The purified ACE inhibitory peptide was a novel peptide, showing very low similarity to other ACE inhibitory peptide sequences, and was sequenced as MEGAQEAQGD. It was found that the inhibitory activity of the peptide was intensified by 3.5 times from IC(50) 15.9 to IC(50) 4.5 microM after incubation with gastrointestinal proteases. The ACE inhibitory peptide from A. molpadioidea showed a clear antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), at a dosage of 3 microM/kg.