Effects of high pressure on activities and properties of superoxide dismutase from chestnut rose

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is an important enzyme with antioxidant function. The activity of purified SOD from chestnut rose was increased by 22.23-38.02% after high pressure processing (HPP, 100-500 MPa/0-20 min/30-50 degrees C). The properties of SOD induced by high pressure were studied by means of electrophoresis, dynamic light scattering, enthalpy and surface hydrophobicity, circular dichroism and fluorescence spectrometry. Results showed that high pressure did not change the electrophoretic properties, particle size distribution, digestive system stability and antioxidant capacity of SOD. However, the enthalpy and surface hydrophobicity of SOD was increased. The increase of SOD activity was related to the increase of SOD surface hydrophobicity. Moreover, the alpha-helix fraction of SOD was decreased by 8.7% and the intrinsic fluorescence intensity of SOD was increased by 5.7% when exposed to high pressure. This study suggested that HPP can be used as a novel way of increasing the activity of SOD in chestnut rose.