Purification and Characterization of Antiproliferative Peptide from Enzymatic Hydrolysates of Chinese Soft-Shelled Turtle Protein

Chinese soft-shelled turtle protein was hydrolyzed using neutrase to produce antiproliferative peptides. To identify the antiproliferative peptides, Chinese soft-shelled turtle protein hydrolysate was fractionated by Sephadex G-25. Antiproliferative activities of the identified peptides were evaluated using the MTT assay. Three novel antiproliferative peptides were identified as Asp-Glu-Gla-Asp-Leu-Leu-Gla (MW: 745.79 Da), Glu-Gla-Gly-Val-Asn-Asp-Trp (MW: 789.81 Da), and Gly-Ger-IleGer-Ger-Gly-Gln-Val (MW: 733.78 Da). These peptides with exhibited antiproliferative activity on A549 cancer cells with IC50 values of 129.12 +/- 4.21, 150.89 +/- 3.75 and 142.47 +/- 5.12 mu g/mL, respectively. This bioactivity was likely due to the small size of the peptides and the peptide sequences have hydrophobic amino acids. Further investigations were suggested on larger scale employing standard procedures. (C) 2018 Friends Science Publishers