Potential Antioxidant Properties of Enzymatic Hydrolysates from <i>Stichopus</i> <i>japonicus</i> against Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced Oxidative Stress

• Main Authors: Hyo-Geun Lee (Author), Hyun-Soo Kim (Author), Jae-Young Oh (Author), Dae-Sung Lee (Author), Hye-Won Yang (Author), Min-Cheol Kang (Author), Eun-A Kim (Author), Nalae Kang (Author), Junseong Kim (Author), Soo-Jin Heo (Author), You-Jin Jeon (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antiox10010110; 2076-3921
• Keywords: antioxidant; red sea cucumber; <i>Stichopus japonicus</i>; enzyme-assisted extract; oxidative stress; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antioxidants, Vol 10, Iss 1, p 110 (2021)

A comprehensive antioxidant evaluation was performed on enzymatic hydrolysates of <i>Stichopus</i><i>japonicus</i> (<i>S. japonicus</i>) using Vero cells and zebrafish models for in vitro and in vivo studies, respectively. <i>S. japonicus</i> was hydrolyzed with food-grade enzymes (alcalase, α-chymotrypsin, flavourzyme, kojizyme, neutrase, papain, pepsin, protamex, and trypsin), and the free radical scavenging activities were screened via electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. According to the results, the enzymatic hydrolysates contained high protein and relatively low polysaccharide and sulfate contents. Among these hydrolysates, the α-chymotrypsin assisted hydrolysate from <i>S. japonicus</i> (α-chy) showed high yield and protein content, and strong hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Therefore, α-chy was chosen for further purification. The α-chy was fractionated by ultrafiltration into three ultrafiltration (UF) fractions based on their molecular weight: >10 kDa (α-chy-I), 5-10 kDa (α-chy-II), and <5 kDa (α-chy-III), and we evaluated their antioxidant properties in H₂O₂ exposed Vero cells. The α-chy and its UF fractions significantly decreased the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and increased cell viability in H₂O₂ exposed Vero cells. Among them, α-chy-III effectively declined the intracellular ROS levels and increased cell viability and exhibited protection against H₂O₂ induced apoptotic damage. Furthermore, α-chy-III remarkably attenuated the cell death, intracellular ROS and lipid peroxidation in H₂O₂ exposed zebrafish embryos. Altogether, our findings demonstrated that α-chy and its α-chy-III from <i>S. japonicus</i> possess strong antioxidant activities that could be utilized as a bioactive ingredient for functional food industries.