Immunomodulatory effects of lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) peptides on macrophages in mice

• Published in: Food bioscience Vol. 57; p. 103494
• Main Authors: Zhuang, Weijing, Lu, Xu, Zheng, Yafeng, Song, Hongbo, Zheng, Baodong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2024
• Subjects: body weight; Cytokines; dose response; enzymatic hydrolysis; immunomodulation; immunomodulators; Immunomodulatory effects; interleukin-6; Lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) peptides; Macrophages; molecular weight; Nelumbo nucifera; nitric oxide; phagocytosis; trypsin; tumor necrosis factors; ultrafiltration; Immunomodulatory effects; Lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) peptides; Cytokines; Macrophages
• ISSN: 2212-4292; 2212-4306
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fbio.2023.103494

Immunomodulatory effects of lotus seed (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) peptides (LSPs) were studied in this paper. The LSPs were prepared by trypsin enzymatic hydrolysis and were separated by ultrafiltration separation technology. The following four peptide fractions with different molecular weight were obtained: LSP-I (>10 kDa), LSP-II (5–10 kDa), LSP-III (3–5 kDa), and LSP-IV (<3 kDa). Macrophage phagocytosis capacity, NO production and cytokine levels were measured in healthy and immunosuppressed mice to explore the effects of immunomodulatory activity of LSPs. In vitro, among the four peptides, LSP-IV showed the greatest effect on RAW264.7 macrophage phagocytosis. In vivo, LSP-IV had no significant effect on the levels of nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in healthy mice in a dose-dependent manner, but significantly increased the levels of NO, IL -6 and TNF-α secreted by peritoneal macrophages (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively) in immunosuppressed mice. In particular, high doses of LSP-IV (0.10 g/kg body weight) showed a stronger immunomodulatory potential. Our findings shed light on the potential of low-molecular-weight peptides from lotus seeds as novel natural immunoregulatory dietary factors. [Display omitted] •Lotus seed peptides has the potential as novel natural immunoregulatory dietary factors.•Immunomodulatory effects on Four peptide fractions with different molecular weight were different.•LSP-IV (<3 kDa)) showed immunomodulatory potential by modulating immune-related factors in mice in a dose-dependent manner.