A few studies conducted over the past few decades have demonstrated the health benefits of a diet rich in marine products, but limited studies have investigated the effects of different krill products on the nitrogen balance and their potential health benefits. In our study, after a 14‐day acclimation period, 50 female Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly assigned to five groups, each of which was fed a different diet, for 28 days. We then evaluated the effect of krill protein complex (KPC), krill powder, and defatted krill powder on the nitrogen balance, growth, and antioxidant activity through analyses of MDA, CAT, GSH‐Px, and T‐SOD. An in vivo analysis suggested that the nitrogen retention rate, protein digestibility, and bioutilization of krill products were equal to those of casein. Moreover, the KPC diet resulted in the highest nitrogen intake and retention among the groups, and the biological value and net protein utilization obtained with KPC were higher than those obtained with defatted krill powder, which was consistent with the weight gains observed for these two groups. The hematological test also showed that KPC contributed to the production of functional proteins in the body. The antioxidant activity analysis indicated that higher GSH‐Px and T‐SOD activities were obtained with krill products and KPC, respectively, compared with casein. The results from this study suggested that krill proteins could promote growth and improve the antioxidant status of an organism. Although further studies on the safety of krill products for human consumption are needed, this work provides insights into the use of krill proteins as a potential substitute for other proteins and restructured foods.
The study aimed to investigate the effects of alcalase, papain, flavourzyme, and neutrase on the structural characteristics and bioactivity stability of Cucumaria frondosa intestines and ovum hydrolysates (CFHs). The findings revealed that flavourzyme exhibited the highest hydrolysis rate (51.88% ± 1.87%). At pH 2.0, the solubility of hydrolysate was the lowest across all treatments, while the solubility at other pH levels was over 60%. The primary structures of hydrolysates of different proteases were similar, whereas the surface hydrophobicity of hydrolysates was influenced by the types of proteases used. The hydrolysates produced by different proteases were also analyzed for their absorption peaks and antioxidant activity. The hydrolysates of flavourzyme had β-fold absorption peaks (1637 cm−1), while the neutrase and papain hydrolysates had N-H bending vibrations. The tertiary structure of CFHs was unfolded by different proteases, exposing the aromatic amino acids and red-shifting of the λ-peak of the hydrolysate. The alcalase hydrolysates showed better antioxidant activity in vitro and better surface hydrophobicity than the other hydrolysates. The flavourzyme hydrolysates displayed excellent antioxidant stability and pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity during gastrointestinal digestion, indicating their potential use as antioxidants in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
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