Acute Toxicity, Antioxidant, and Antifatigue Activities of Protein-Rich Extract from Oviductus ranae

The paper investigated the preparation, amino acid composition, acute toxicity, and in vitro and in vivo antioxidant, coupled with in vivo antifatigue activities of protein-rich extract of Oviductus ranae (PEOR). The results indicated that PEOR possesses high-safety property with maximum tolerated dose (MTD) higher than 20 g/kg in mice, shows weak scavenging capacities against hydroxyl, superoxide anion, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals, as well as ferric-reducing antioxidant power in vitro, but exerts strong antioxidant effect in ethanol-induced oxidative stress mice model; it can decrease malonaldehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PCO) formation and increase total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) activity and glutathione (GSH) synthesis. Besides the strong in vivo antioxidant activity, PEOR in a dose of 400 mg/kg also has antifatigue effect in mice, and it can prolong the exhaustive swimming time, reduce the elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and blood lactic acid (BLA) caused by intense exercise. The in vivo activity of PEOR may be contributed by its absorbed amino acids, due to the fact that eight antioxidant amino acids and twelve glucogenic ones were found in it. This study will provide an evidence for the clinical use of PEOR as a dietary supplement for antioxidant and antifatigue in the same oral dose (400 mg/kg).