Identification and molecular mechanisms of novel antioxidant peptides from fermented broad bean paste: A combined in silico and in vitro study

Hongbin Lin; Jianhua Zhao; Yuqing Xie; Jie Tang; Qin Wang; Jie Zhao; Min Xu; Ping Liu

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139297

Identification and molecular mechanisms of novel antioxidant peptides from fermented broad bean paste: A combined in silico and in vitro study

Food Chem. 2024 Apr 12:450:139297. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139297. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Hongbin Lin¹, Jianhua Zhao², Yuqing Xie², Jie Tang³, Qin Wang⁴, Jie Zhao⁵, Min Xu⁵, Ping Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Food and Bio-engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Specialty Food Co-Built by Sichuan and Chongqing, Chengdu 610039, China. Electronic address: hongbin-ok@163.com.
² School of Food and Bio-engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China.
³ School of Food and Bio-engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China; Food Microbiology Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610039, China.
⁴ Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
⁵ School of Food and Bio-engineering, Xihua University, Chengdu 610039, China; Chongqing Key Laboratory of Specialty Food Co-Built by Sichuan and Chongqing, Chengdu 610039, China.

PMID: 38631199
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139297

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the antioxidative and cytoprotective activity of antioxidant peptides from fermented broad bean paste (FBBP) and explore their potential molecular mechanisms using a combined in silico and in vitro approach. Seven novel antioxidant peptides (VSRRFIYYL, SPAIPLP, PVPPPGG, KKDGYWWAKFK, LAWY, LGFMQF, and LPGCP) identified by integrated approaches of peptidomics and in silico bioinformatic analysis were synthesized, exhibiting strong antioxidant potential against in vitro radicals. Molecular docking results suggested that these peptides could form stable hydrogen bonds and solvent-accessible surface with key amino acid residues of Keap1, thus potentially regulating the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway by occupying the Nrf2-binding site on Keap1. Additionally, they exhibited strong cellular antioxidant activity and could protect HepG2 cells from AAPH-induced oxidative injury by reducing reactive oxygen species and MDA accumulation. This study firstly unraveled the molecular mechanisms of antioxidant peptides from FBBP, and provided a new theoretical basis for the high-value utilization of FBBP.

Keywords: Activity mechanism; Antioxidant peptides; Cytoprotective effect; Fermented broad bean paste; Molecular docking.