Immunomodulatory effects of protein hydrolysates from rohu (Labeo rohita) egg (roe) in BALB/c mice

Protein hydrolysates prepared from underutilized rohu (Labe rohita) egg (roe), by enzymatic hydrolysis using pepsin, trypsin and Alcalase, were evaluated for their immunomodulatory effects in BALB/c mice. The female BALB/c mice (4-6 weeks, 18-20 g) were administered with the rohu egg protein hydrolysates (REPHs) daily for a period of forty five days with concentration of 0.25, 0.5 and 1 g/kg body weight. Both innate and adaptive immune responses were studied. Pepsin hydrolysate significantly increased the splenic NK cell cytotoxicity, macrophage phagocytosis and level of serum immunoglobulin A (IgA). The mucosal immunity (S-IgA) in the gut was significantly enhanced by pepsin and Alcalase hydrolysates. Whereas trypsin hydrolysate induced significant increases in the percentages of CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells in the spleen. This study confirms that REPHs are able to modulate immune function and further reveals that different rohu egg protein hydrolysates may exert differential influences on the immune system. These results suggest that REPHs contain immunostimulatory peptides that could be useful in pharmaceutical, health food or nutraceutical industry for various applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.