Abstract
BACKGROUND: In this study, the preparation of pea glycopeptides based on the Maillard glycosylation pathway (PPH-M) and its antagonistic mechanism against alcoholic liver injury in zebrafish were studied. RESULTS: The results showed that the conjugation of D-xylose significantly improved the antioxidant activity of pea protein hydrolysates (PPHs). The structural characterization indicated that PPH was successfully covalent binding to D-xylose, which was mainly manifested as a stretching vibration change in Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and molecular size increase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and zeta potential also confirmed the covalently bound of the two. In addition, a model of alcohol-induced liver injury in zebrafish was established. Through the intervention of different doses of PPH-M, it was found that the intervention of PPH-M could significantly increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, reduce malondialdehyde (MDA) content, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, and significantly improve alcohol-induced liver injury in zebrafish. The protective effect of PPH-M was also confirmed by liver pathology and fluorescence microscopy. Finally, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) results indicated that PPH-M could significantly regulate the expression level of antioxidant-related mRNA. PPH-M could also regulate the expression of the Keap1/Nrf2 signaling pathway and up-regulated glutathione synthesis signaling pathway to antagonize alcohol-induced liver injury in zebrafish. CONCLUSION: This study revealed the mechanism of PPH-M antagonized alcoholic liver injury and laid a theoretical foundation for its development as functional foods.