Identification and characterization of novel antioxidant peptides from crucian carp (Carassius auratus) cooking juice released in simulated gastrointestinal digestion by UPLC-MS/MS and in silico analysis.

The objective of this work was to separate, identify and assess antioxidant peptides from the simulated gastrointestinal (GI) digestion of crucian carp (Carassius auratus) cooking juice (CCCJ), which has been previously found with this activity. The CCCJ after simulated GI digestion treatment was separated gradually by ultrafiltration and RP-HPLC. Five novel antioxidant peptides with 10-13 amino acid residues were identified by UPLC-MS/MS. Their in silico assessments showed amphiphilic nature, good sensory quality and different target sites in the human body. Meanwhile, their three-dimensional structure predictions exhibited at least one β-turn, β-sheet and/or α-helix with partial hydrophobic and/or net-charged residues exposed to the external medium, which was good evidence for high antioxidant activity. Ultimately, four novel peptides with high antioxidant activity were found, among which IREADIDGDGQVN (1401 Da), PEILPDGDHD (1107 Da) and ASDEQDSVRL (1119 Da) exerted the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity with IC50 of 1.78, 1.18 and 1.45 mM, respectively, while APLEEPSSPH (1063 Da) showed the highest Fe2+ chelating ability with IC50 of 0.09 mM. This work could help understand the mechanism of CCCJ on human health promotion and improve the economic value of the crucian carp processing industry.