Identification and virtual screening of novel anti-inflammatory peptides from broccoli fermented by Lactobacillus strains

Yao Li; Xinchang Gao; Daodong Pan; Zhu Liu; Chaogeng Xiao; Yongzhao Xiong; Lihui Du; Zhendong Cai; Wenjing Lu; Yali Dang; Xiuzhi Zhu

doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.1118900

Identification and virtual screening of novel anti-inflammatory peptides from broccoli fermented by Lactobacillus strains

Front Nutr. 2023 Jan 11:9:1118900. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.1118900. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yao Li¹, Xinchang Gao², Daodong Pan¹, Zhu Liu³, Chaogeng Xiao⁴, Yongzhao Xiong¹, Lihui Du¹, Zhendong Cai¹, Wenjing Lu⁴, Yali Dang¹, Xiuzhi Zhu⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of AgroProducts, College of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
³ Zhejiang Institute for Food and Drug Control, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
⁵ Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

Lactobacillus strains fermentation of broccoli as a good source of bioactive peptides has not been fully elucidated. In this work, the peptide composition of broccoli fermented by L. plantarum A3 and L. rhamnosus ATCC7469 was analyzed by peptidomics to study the protein digestion patterns after fermentation by different strains. Results showed that water-soluble proteins such as rubisco were abundant sources of peptides, which triggered the sustained release of peptides as the main target of hydrolysis. In addition, 17 novel anti-inflammatory peptides were identified by virtual screening. Among them, SIWYGPDRP had the strongest ability to inhibit the release of NO from inflammatory cells at a concentration of 25 μM with an inhibition rate of 52.32 ± 1.48%. RFR and KASFAFAGL had the strongest inhibitory effects on the secretion of TNF-α and IL-6, respectively. At a concentration of 25 μM, the corresponding inhibition rates were 74.61 ± 1.68% and 29.84 ± 0.63%, respectively. Molecular docking results showed that 17 peptides formed hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). This study is conducive to the high-value utilization of broccoli and reduction of the antibiotic use.

Keywords: Lactobacillus; anti-inflammatory peptides; fermented broccoli; peptidomics; virtual screening.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by One Health Interdisciplinary Research Project, Ningbo University (HZ202202), the Science Technology Department of Zhejiang Province (2022C02028 and 2020C02035), Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Market Regulation (CY202234), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91856126).