Jackfruit Leaf Protein Hydrolysates Obtained by Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Leaf Protein Concentrate with Pepsin and Pancreatin: Molecular Weight, Cytotoxicity, Antiproliferative Activity, and Oxidative Stress.

Abstract

Jackfruit leaf protein hydrolysates obtained from the enzymatic hydrolysis of leaf protein concentrate with gastrointestinal enzymes have shown good techno-functional properties and high antioxidant capacity. However, molecular weight, antiproliferative activity, cytotoxicity and the ability to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) are still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of jackfruit leaf protein hydrolysates obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis with pepsin and pancreatin at different hydrolysis times (30-240min) on molecular weights, cytotoxicity, antiproliferation of cancer cells, and the reduction of reactive oxygen species in H2O2-induced HaCaT cells. The electrophoretic profile indicated that H-Pep contains peptides with molecular weights between 25 - 20kDa. Meanwhile, H-Pan is composed of molecular weight products between 25 - 20kDa and < 20kDa. H-Pan and H-Pep (125-500µg/mL) did not show significant cytotoxicity on HaCaT (human keratinocytes) and J774A.1 (murine macrophage cells). Antiproliferative activity was achieved in human cervical, ovarian, and liver cancer cells. H-Pan-240min (1000µg/mL) reduced the cell viability of cervical cancer cells by 23% while H-Pan-60min significantly reduced cell viability of ovarian and liver cancer cells by 14.5 (500µg/mL) and 17% (1000µg/mL), respectively (P < 0.05). The protective effect against oxidative stress on H2O2-stressed HaCaT cells was obtained with H-Pep-60min, which reduced 25% of ROS at 250µg/mL (P < 0.05). The findings demonstrate the safe use of green biomass as a source of plant protein hydrolysates.