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Fine dust-associated complications related to human health are one of the major issues in the East-Asia region. In the present study, we evaluated anti-inflammatory effect of dieckol in fine dust-stimulated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and its biological mechanism. The result showed that the exposure of macrophages to fine dust induced the productions of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and the mRNA expression levels of inflammatory mediators such as inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 whereas it was significantly attenuated by the treatment of dieckol. In addition, fine dust increased the pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α that were down-regulated by dieckol. Interestingly, dieckol protected macrophages against cell damages via reducing the fine dust-caused intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation via induction of superoxide dismutase production as well as the HO-1/Nrf2 signaling activation. In conclusion, dieckol protects RAW 264.7 cells against fine dust-induced inflammation and oxidative stress via inducing anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioactive peptides isolated from edible marine sources have been used as nutraceuticals and functional foods. The present study focuses on the alcalase hydrolysate of Hippocampus abdominalis for the isolation of antioxidative and angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides. Initially, the H. abdominalis alcalase hydrolysate (HA) was separated using ultrafiltration (MWCO = 5 kDa), and have obtained the fraction, HA-III (MW ≤ 5 kDa), with strong bioactivity. This was further separated using gel filtration chromatography (Sephadex G-10) and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The active Sephadex G-10 fraction was analyzed by the Q-TOF mass spectrometry, nine peptides were identified within the molecular mass range between 757.8 and 990.1 Da. Three peptides, GIIGPSGSP, IGTGIPGIW, and QIGFIW, showed strong ACE inhibitory activity and alkyl radical-scavenging activity. Molecular docking studies revealed that the ACE inhibitory activity of the three active peptides is mainly due to hydrogen bonding interactions and active site interactions between active peptides and ACE. This study demonstrated that the active peptides derived from H. abdominalis can be isolated and the proteolytic hydrolysates of it are potential antioxidant and antihypertensive agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hippocampus trimaculatus is one of the most heavily traded seahorse species for traditional medicine purposes in many countries. In the present study, we showed neuroprotective effects of peptide derived from H. trimaculatus against amyloid-β (Aβ) toxicity which are central to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's diseases (AD). Firstly, H. trimaculatus was separately hydrolyzed by four different enzymes and tested for their protective effect on Aβ-induced neurotoxicity in differentiated PC12 cells. Pronase E hydrolysate exerted highest protection with cell viability value of 88.33 ± 3.33 %. Furthermore, we used response surface methodology to optimize pronase E hydrolysis conditions and found that temperature at 36.69 °C with the hydrolysis time 20.01 h, enzyme to substrate ( E/ S) ratio of 2.02 % and pH 7.34 were the most optimum conditions. Following several purification steps, H. trimaculatus-derived neuroprotective peptides (HTP-1) sequence was identified as Gly-Thr-Glu-Asp-Glu-Leu-Asp-Lys (906.4 Da). HTP-1 protected PC12 cells from Aβ-induced neuronal death with the cell viability value of 85.52 ± 2.22 % and up-regulated pro-survival gene (Bcl-2) expressions. These results suggest that HTP-1 has the potential to be used in treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly AD. Identification, characterization, and synthesis of bioactive components derived from H. trimaculatus have the potential to replace or at least complement the use of seahorse as traditional medicine, which further may become an approach to minimize seahorse exploitation in traditional medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microalgae are major primary producers of organic matters in aquatic environments through their photosynthetic activities. Benthic diatom Navicula incerta is the major component of phytoplankton and also relatively easy to cultivate, used as live food source in aquaculture. The growth characteristics of N. incerta were estimated under combinations of temperature, salinity, and light; and also its composition and antioxidant activities were determined. The maximum cell density of 87×10cells/mL, was reached at 20°C, 250 μmol/m·sec, 33‰ salinity, pH 8.3, 12:12 light:dark, and F/2 medium on 2 weeks of the culture period. The antioxidant enzymatic hydrolysates efficiently quenched different free radicals: 1,1-diphenyl-2-pycryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) (pepsin IC=196.0 μg/mL), hydroxyl (α-chymotrypsin IC=102.0 μg/mL), and superoxide (neutrase IC=169.0 μg/mL). These results suggest that the enzymatic hydrolysate from N. incerta acts as a candidate against antioxidant and could be used as a potential functional food ingredient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]