Sang-Woon Leea, Jimin Hyuna, Jun-Geon Jea, and You-Jin Jeona
aDepartment of Marine Life Sciences, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea
* Correspondence to: You-Jin Jeon (youjin2014@gmail.com)
Phone: +82-64-754-3475, Fax: +82-64-756-3493
Pyropia yezoensis (PY) is species of red algae that is consumed a lot as food as well as has gradually decreased production, due to the impact of climate change. Based on this background, heat-resistant PY (HrP) has been developed, whereas comparative studies on HrP and commercial PY are still lacking. In this study, we investigated the antioxidant properties of HrP. HrP water extract showed a superior ROS scavenging effect against DPPH, alkyl, and hydroxyl radicals compared to the commercial PY water extract. Afterward, HrP was enzymatically hydrolyzed using seven-chosen enzymes (Alcalase, Celluclast, Flavourzyme, Neutrase, Protamex, Ultraflo, and Viscozyme) and these enzyme-assisted HrP hydrolysates (EHrPs) were evaluated the free radicals scavenging activity. Among them, Neutrase-assisted Hrp hydrolysate (NHrP) showed the highest protein content with antioxidant properties. NHrP was further evaluated for the molecular weights dependent antioxidant effect using the molecular weight cut-off system. membrane-passed fraction (10B; ≤10 kDa) emerged the outstanding antioxidant activity than an un-passed fraction (10A; >10 kDa) in ROS scavenging against H2O2, DPPH. Moreover, 10B treatment ameliorated H2O2-induced oxidative stress in Vero cells and zebrafish embryos (increased survival percentage and decreased cell death, and ROS formation). These data suggest that HrP might be capable of a potential antioxidant agent for nutraceutical industries.
Keywords: Pyropia yezoensis, Heat-resistant Pyropia yezoensis, Climate change, Antioxidant, Zebrafish