Antioxidant properties of enzymatic hydrolysates from royal jelly.

Enzymatic hydrolysates were prepared from royal jelly using three enzymes (pepsin, trypsin, and papain), and their antioxidative properties were evaluated. The yield of these hydrolysates was very high, about 20-26% on a raw weight basis. In comparison with the antioxidative activities of water extract and alkaline extract of royal jelly, the antioxidative activities and scavenging activities against active oxygen species such as superoxide anion radical and hydroxyl radical of each hydrolysate were high in the sample with a low protein concentration. These results suggest that once royal jelly is hydrolyzed using enzyme, the hydrolysate possesses much higher antioxidative activity and scavenging activity against active oxygen species. Royal jelly will act as a medicinal food in the human body.