Selenium-enriched
egg white peptides (Se-EWP) were prepared
by
pre-heat treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis in this study. In addition,
their selenopeptide sequence identification and immunomodulatory effect
were investigated. Results showed that the yield of Se-EWP obtained
from alkaline–neutral protease treatment reached 76.90%, and
peptides with a molecular weight of 200–1000 Da accounted for
98.33%. Four characteristic selenopeptides, including SeCys-Trp-Leu-Glu,
Trp-Ser-SeCys, SeMet-Ala-Pro, and SeMet-Leu, were identified by HPLC–ESI-MS/MS,
which were rich in hydrophobic and branched-chain amino acids. Se-EWP
(750 mg/kg/d) could effectively retard the decrease of immune organ
index in immunosuppressed mice induced by cyclophosphamide. Moreover,
supplementation of Se-EWP could promote a higher content of Se in
liver, the number of white blood cells, and the levels of serum cytokines
(IL-6, IL-2, and TNF-α) as compared with EWP groups, indicating
that Se-EWP could effectively alleviate immunosuppression induced
by cyclophosphamide. These findings suggested that Se-EWP exhibited
great potential as functional foods for immunomodulatory effect.