Development, characterization and determination of biological properties of crocodile hemoglobin (Crocodylus siamensis ) tablets

Abstract

Recently, several biological properties of Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) hemoglobin (Hb) and its hydrolysate have been discovered. In light of these findings, this study exploring the physical properties and biological activity of C. siamensis Hb tablets is disclosed. Notably, all derived tablet formulations of crocodile Hb were proven to possess antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Investigation of long-term stability indicated mild storage temperature of only 4°C is adequate to maintain full biological activity for more than 3 months. Scanning electron microscopy further revealed induction of abnormalities on bacterial cell membranes upon treatment with tableted crocodile Hb. Digestion of crocodile Hb tablets with artificial gastric juice was found non-significant differences on the antibacterial activity between the digested Hb tablets and intact Hb. Using C18 RP-HPLC purification followed by N-terminal sequence analysis, four active peptides originating from the alpha and six from the beta chain of native crocodile Hb were identified. Practical applications Several studies demonstrated that crocodile hemoglobin (Hb) possesses various biological activities such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and wound healing activity. Hence, this article aims to develop crocodile hemoglobin as food supplementary tablets. Various crocodile Hb tablet formulations have been prepared. After that, the possibility for using tableted crocodile Hb as a food supplement has been investigated in detail. The outcome obtained from this study justified that the development of crocodile Hb tablets provide a protein rich food supplementary product with promising biological activity.