Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship Model to Predict Antioxidant Effects of the Peptide Fraction Extracted from a Co-Culture System of <i>Chlorella pyrenoidosa</i> and <i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i>

• Main Authors: Huifan Liu, Sufen Li, Yuming Zhong, Jianliang Liu, Hui Liu, Jian Cheng, Lukai Ma, Yuqing Huang, Xuanyi Cai, Haijun Liu, Jiantong Zheng, Zhongai Su, Qin Wang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-11-01
• Series: Marine Drugs
• Subjects: <i>chlorella pyrenoidosa</i>; <i>yarrowia lipolytica</i>; enzymatic hydrolysis peptides; hepg2; quantitative structure–activity relationship model
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-3397/17/11/633

In this study, the antioxidant components in co-culture of <i>Chlorella pyrenoidosa</i> and <i>Yarrowia lipolytica</i> (3:1 ratio) were confirmed as trypsin-hydrolyzed peptides (EHPs). The EHPs were composed of 836 different peptides with molecular weights ranging from 639 to 3531 Da and were mainly composed of hydrophobic amino acids (48.1%). These peptides showed remarkable protective effects against oxidative stress in HepG2, which may be attributed to their structures. Furthermore, the mRNA and protein levels of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) were significantly lower in the peptide-treated group than in the control group, suggesting that the antioxidant enzyme-coding genes were not activated. The EC₅₀ value of three peptides in the EHPs were in the order of AGYSPIGFVR (0.04 &#177; 0.002 mg/mL) &gt; VLDELTLAR (0.09 &#177; 0.001 mg/mL) &gt; LFDPVYLFDQG (0.41 &#177; 0.03 mg/mL); these results agreed with the prediction of the model (<i>R</i>² &gt; 0.9, Q² &gt; 0.5). Thus, EHPs show potential as potent new antioxidant agents.