The antioxidant effects of complexes of tilapia fish skin collagen and different marine oligosaccharides

An excess of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to a variety of chronic health problems. As potent antioxidants, marine bioactive extracts containing oligosaccharides and peptides have been extensively studied. Recently, there is a growing interest in protein-polysaccharide complexes because of their potential uses in pharmaceutical and food industries. However, only few studies are available on the antioxidant activities of such complexes, in terms of their ROS scavenging capability. In this study, we combined different marine oligosaccharides (isolated and purified) with collagen peptides derived from tilapia fish skin, and evaluated the antioxidant activity of the marine peptide-oligosaccharide complexes vis-à-vis the activity of their original component molecules. Biochemical and cellular assays were performed to measure the scavenging effects on 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), hydroxyl and superoxide radicals, and to evaluate the influences on the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in UV-induced photoaging models. The results indicated that the antioxidant activities of all the complexes were stronger than those of their individual components. Among the 11 complexes tested, two complexes, namely MA1000+CP and κ-ca3000+CP, turned out to be highly effective antioxidants. Although the detailed mechanisms of this improved scavenging ability are not fully understood, this work provides insights into the design of highly efficient peptide-oligosaccharide complexes for potential applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries.