Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Publication
    Profiling of the Molecular Weight and Structural Isomer Abundance of Macroalgae-Derived Phlorotannins
    Phlorotannins are a group of complex polymers of phloroglucinol (1,3,5-trihydroxybenzene) unique to macroalgae. These phenolic compounds are integral structural components of the cell wall in brown algae, but also play many secondary ecological roles such as protection from UV radiation and defense against grazing. This study employed Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) with tandem mass spectrometry to investigate isomeric complexity and observed differences in phlorotannins derived from macroalgae harvested off the Irish coast (Fucus serratus, Fucus vesiculosus, Himanthalia elongata and Cystoseira nodicaulis). Antioxidant activity and total phenolic content assays were used as an index for producing phlorotannin fractions, enriched using molecular weight cut-off dialysis with subsequent flash chromatography to profile phlorotannin isomers in these macroalgae. These fractions were profiled using UPLC-MS with multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and the level of isomerization for specific molecular weight phlorotannins between 3 and 16 monomers were determined. The majority of the low molecular weight (LMW) phlorotannins were found to have a molecular weight range equivalent to 4â 12 monomers of phloroglucinol. The level of isomerization within the individual macroalgal species differed, resulting in substantially different numbers of phlorotannin isomers for particular molecular weights. F. vesiculosus had the highest number of isomers of 61 at one specific molecular mass, corresponding to 12 phloroglucinol units (PGUs). These results highlight the complex nature of these extracts and emphasize the challenges involved in structural elucidation of these compounds.
    Scopus© Citations 130  398
  • Publication
    In silico approaches to predict the potential of milk protein-derived peptides as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) inhibitors
    Molecular docking of a library of all 8000 possible tripeptides to the active site of DPP-IV was used to determine their binding potential. A number of tripeptides were selected for experimental testing, however, there was no direct correlation between the Vina score and their in vitro DPP-IV inhibitory properties. While Trp-Trp-Trp, the peptide with the best docking score, was a moderate DPP-IV inhibitor (IC50 216 μM), Lineweaver and Burk analysis revealed its action to be non-competitive. This suggested that it may not bind to the active site of DPP-IV as assumed in the docking prediction. Furthermore, there was no significant link between DPP-IV inhibition and the physicochemical properties of the peptides (molecular mass, hydrophobicity, hydrophobic moment (μH), isoelectric point (pI) and charge). LIGPLOTs indicated that competitive inhibitory peptides were predicted to have both hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions with the active site of DPP-IV. DPP-IV inhibitory peptides generally had a hydrophobic or aromatic amino acid at the N-terminus, preferentially a Trp for non-competitive inhibitors and a broader range of residues for competitive inhibitors (Ile, Leu, Val, Phe, Trp or Tyr). Two of the potent DPP-IV inhibitors, Ile-Pro-Ile and Trp-Pro (IC 50 values of 3.5 and 44.2 μM, respectively), were predicted to be gastrointestinally/intestinally stable. This work highlights the needs to test the assumptions (i.e. competitive binding) of any integrated strategy of computational and experimental screening, in optimizing screening. Future strategies targeting allosteric mechanisms may need to rely more on structure-activity relationship modeling, rather than on docking, in computationally selecting peptides for screening.
    Scopus© Citations 117  149
  • Publication
    Predictive modelling of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory dipeptides
    The ability of docking to predict angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory dipeptide sequences was assessed using AutoDock Vina. All potential dipeptides and phospho-dipeptides were docked and scored. Peptide intestinal stability was assessed using a prediction amino acid clustering model. Selected dipeptides, having AutoDock Vina scores −8.1 and predicted to be ‘stable’ intestinally, were characterised, using LIGPLOT and for ACE-inhibitory potency. Two newly identified ACE-inhibitory dipeptides, Asp-Trp and Trp-Pro, having Vina scores of −8.3 and −8.6 gave IC50 values of 258 ± 4.23 and 217 ± 15.7 μM, respectively. LIGPLOT analysis indicated no zinc interaction for these dipeptides. Phospho-dipeptides were predicted to have a good affinity for ACE. However, the experimentally determined IC50 results did not correlate since, for example, Trp-pThr and Pro-pTyr, having Vina scores of −8.5 and −8.1, respectively, displayed IC50 values of >500 μM. While docking allowed identification of new ACE inhibitory dipeptides, it may not be a fully reliable predictive tool in all cases.
    Scopus© Citations 70  3547