Prospects of using epidermal secretion of scaleless fish species as a source of peptide complexes with antioxidant activity.

Every year, peptide-based preparations are becoming more and more in demand in medicine. Therefore, identifying and researching new biomaterials that are sources of regulatory peptides is an urgent task. This study examines the epidermal secretion of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) as a readily available raw material for the preparation of peptide complexes. In the history of peptide drug synthesis, this object was first investigated as a source for obtaining regulatory peptides with antioxidant activity. We applied a new approach to the process of isolation of biologically active peptide fractions, thus reducing the time and increasing the yield of the target product.

In this work, the antioxidant activity of the isolated peptide complexes was confirmed by two independent UV spectroscopic methods of quantitative analysis. These include a method for inhibition of adrenaline autooxidation in alkaline medium and a method based on the use of DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) to determine glutathione-equivalent activity. For a more precise quantification of the inhibitory activity of peptides, we applied methods and tools of the formal kinetics apparatus. The antioxidant activity of the complexes was determined over a wide range of concentrations and compared with the activity of commercial peptide drugs.

Thus, this work represents an in-depth study devoted not only to a comprehensive study of the process of isolating biologically active fractions of peptides. It also analyzed their antioxidant activity, which opens up the possibility of using these drugs for the treatment of severe forms of wound processes.