A qualitative characterization study of peptide complexes isolated from the epidermal mucus of the Clarias gariepinus.

Regulatory peptides are widely used as immunomodulators, neuroprotectors, and neurometabolicstimulators. This work is devoted to the isolation of peptide complexes from the epidermal secretion of ascaleless fish species and the study of these complexes properties. It has been suggested that suchpeptides can suppress inflammation and promote the regeneration of human integumentary tissue.The skin secretion of the African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) was taken as a source of low-molecularpeptides. Peptide isolation was carried out according to the following scheme: acetic acid extraction inthe presence of a biogenic salt (MgCl2, CaCl2, ZnCl2, MgSO4, CaSO4); ultrasonic cavitation treatment;removal of major proteins by filtration; precipitation of low-molecular weight peptides using acetone.To qualitatively check the resulting product, IR spectroscopy and chromatomass spectrometry wereused. Using these methods, it was possible to prove that the isolated product is a complex containingtens of thousands of low molecular weight peptides. To confirm the antioxidant properties of theproduct, the autoxidation of adrenaline in an alkaline medium was used. Antioxidant properties aredecisive in wound healing preparations of peptide origin. It was found that the resulting peptidepreparation is capable of inhibiting the oxidation reaction of a 1% solution of adrenaline in a buffersolution, which clearly indicates its antioxidant properties. It has been shown that the use of CaCl2makes it possible to isolate the peptide fraction with the highest antioxidant activity.