Yak bone collagen-derived anti-inflammatory bioactive peptides alleviate lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway and nitric oxide production

Anti-inflammatory peptides that derived from food attract more and more attention due to their wide range of sources and easy absorption. In this study, the aim was to identify and characterize anti-inflammatory peptides from yak bone collagen. The prepared yak bone collagen peptides (YBCPs) was separated, purified and identified through ultrafiltration, reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), and nano-liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (nano LC-MS/MS) successively. Finally, a total of 115 peptides were identified. After that, 12 peptides were screened out based on the predicted biological activity score. Molecular docking results indicated that 6 peptides (GPAGPSGPAGK, GPAGPSGPAGKDGR, GPSGPQGIR, GPAGPQGPR, GEAGPAGPAGPAGPR, and GEGGPQGPR) could successfully interact with the key factors in the nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) signaling pathway and nitric oxide (NO) production due to form various bonds such as salt bridge, conventional hydrogen bond, and carbon-hydrogen bond. The anti-inflammatory effects of these 6 peptides were further verified by in vitro cell test. Results indicated that the 6 peptides might play an anti-inflammatory role by regulating different proteins in the NF-κB signaling pathway and NO production. This study would further promote the application of yak bone collagen in health food.