Bioactive Peptides from Angelica sinensis Protein Hydrolyzate Delay Senescence in Caenorhabditis elegans through Antioxidant Activities

Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2016:2016:8956981. doi: 10.1155/2016/8956981. Epub 2016 Jan 31.

Abstract

Since excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) is known to be associated with aging and age-related diseases, strategies modulating ROS level and antioxidant defense systems may contribute to the delay of senescence. Here we show that the protein hydrolyzate from Angelica sinensis was capable of increasing oxidative survival of the model animal Caenorhabditis elegans intoxicated by paraquat. The hydrolyzate was then fractionated by ultrafiltration, and the antioxidant fraction (<3 kDa) was purified by gel filtration to obtain the antioxidant A. sinensis peptides (AsiPeps), which were mostly composed of peptides with <20 amino acid residues. Further studies demonstrate that AsiPeps were able to reduce the endogenous ROS level, increase the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase and catalase, and decrease the content of the lipid peroxidation product malondialdehyde in nematodes treated with paraquat or undergoing senescence. AsiPeps were also shown to reduce age pigments accumulation and extend lifespan but did not affect the food-intake behavior of the nematodes. Taken together, our results demonstrate that A. sinensis peptides (AsiPeps) are able to delay aging process in C. elegans through antioxidant activities independent of dietary restriction.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aging / drug effects
  • Aging / physiology*
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Angelica sinensis / chemistry*
  • Animals
  • Antioxidants / pharmacology*
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / drug effects
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / enzymology
  • Caenorhabditis elegans / physiology*
  • Cattle
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Malondialdehyde / metabolism
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Oxidation-Reduction / drug effects
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Paraquat / toxicity
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Pigments, Biological / metabolism
  • Protein Hydrolysates / pharmacology*
  • Reactive Oxygen Species / metabolism
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Peptides
  • Pigments, Biological
  • Protein Hydrolysates
  • Reactive Oxygen Species
  • Malondialdehyde
  • Paraquat