Identification of Protein Hydrolysates from Sesame Meal and In Vivo Study of Their Gastric Mucosal Protective Effects

This study aimed to investigate the protective effects and defense mechanisms of a sesame meal protein hydrolysate against ethanol-induced acute gastric mucosal injury in mice. The target peptides in the hydrolysate were identified by LC-MS/MS, the activity was predicted by PeptideRanker, and the KM mice were orally administered distilled water, a sesame peptide, and omeprazole for 24 consecutive days. Acute gastric mucosal injury was then induced in mice with 70% ethanol, except for the CK group. The sesame peptide significantly inhibited the over-accumulation of ALT, AST, MDA, TNF-α, IL-1β, and MPO, while promoting the reduction in GSH, T-AOC, GSSG, and EGF expression. In addition, a Western blotting analysis showed that sesame peptide significantly up-regulated the expression of HO-1 and NQO1 proteins in the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway, and down-regulated Keap1 protein. The defense effect of a sesame peptide on gastric mucosa may be achieved by alleviating the overproduction of lipid peroxides and improving the antioxidant activity.