To assess the effect of corn peptides (CPs) as an antioxidant on ethanol (EtOH)induced oxidative stress in HepG2 cells, the cells were preincubated with CPs for 4 h before treated with EtOH. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium and flow cytometry assay were performed to detect the viability of CP-treated HepG2 cells and control cells. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined by corresponding kits, respectively. The results showed that treatment with 300 mmol/L EtOH for 24 h resulted in a death of around 50% of the HepG2 cells. Pretreatments of appropriate concentrations of CPs (more than 5 mg/mL, particularly at 20 mg/ mL) significantly prevented EtOH-induced cytotoxicity and reduced the increase of ALT, AST, LDH and MDA contents, as well as inhibited the reduction of SOD contents in the HepG2 cells, indicating that CPs protected the cells from oxidative damage induced by EtOH metabolism, and thus had a great application potential in hepatoprotective nutraceuticals.
Bioactive peptides derived from food proteins have been considered as potentially ideal products to reduce hypertension because of their safety and positive impacts on health. IQP and VEP are the 2 ACE inhibitory peptides derived from Spirulina platensis, a kind of edible cyanobacteria with rich nutrition and multiple physiological functions, and were demonstrated to inhibit ACE and lower blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. However, it is prerequisite that such bioactive peptides must be absorbed intact across the intestinal epithelium, so as to exert antihypertensive effects in vivo. This study evaluated transepithelial transport mechanisms of IQP and VEP. It contributes to the study of Spirulina in lowering blood pressure and supports the development of bioactive peptide products.
This study investigated the long-term (8 weeks) anti-hypertensive effects of 10 mg/kg tripeptides isolated from Spirulina platensis, Ile-Gln-Pro (IQP) and Val-Glu-Pro (VEP), and S. platensis hydrolysates (SH) on spontaneously hypertensive rats. The treatment period was 6 weeks, and observation continued for another 2 weeks. After treatment, weighted systolic blood pressure, weighted diastolic blood pressure, left ventricular mass index, and right ventricular mass index of groups treated with IQP, VEP, and SH were significantly lower than those of the group treated with distilled water, even when the treatments had been withdrawn for 2 weeks. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and Western blotting showed the mRNA expression levels and protein/peptide concentrations of the main components of the renin angiotensin system in myocardium were significantly affected by treatment: angiotensin converting enzyme, angiotensin II, and angiotensin type 1 receptor were down-regulated, whereas angiotensin type 2 receptor, angiotensin converting enzyme 2, angiotensin-(1-7), and Mas receptor were up-regulated.
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