Anti-oxidative and anti-aging activities of collagen hydrolysate

Collagen is a family of fibrous proteins present in skin, bone, tendon, teeth, cartilage of multicellular organisms. Collagen and its hydrolysate were prepared from squid skin hydrolyzed with proteases. The collagen hydrolysate obtained could remarkably extend the lifespan of fruit fly Drosophila Melanogaster. The maximum lifespan fruit flies increased from 60 days (control groups), to 80 to 84 days (treated groups). The anti-ageing effect of collagen hydrolysates might be related to their antioxidant activities. The collagen hydrolysates greatly inhibited polyphenol oxidase activity in vitro and decreased the production of lipofuscin (brown pigment characteristic of ageing) in fruit fly. The molecular weight of major polypeptides with highest antioxidant activities isolated from the collagen hydrolysate ranged from 7 to 12 KD. The most abundant amino acids in the polypeptides were leucine, lysine, and glutamine, glycine and alanine. These results suggest that the collagen hydrolyzate from squid skin exhibited anti-ageing activity in fruit fly and might be used as neutraceutical ingredients in functional food, cosmetics and other industrials for healthcare purpose.