Postfertilization changes in conformation of egg yolk phosvitin and biological activities of phosphopeptides

Abstract Egg yolk-derived phosvitin phosphopeptides (PPPs) are considered to have a huge potential in nutraceutical and cosmetic industries for their high Ca 2 + binding capacity and antioxidant activity. This work aimed to obtain information on effect of fertilization on conformation of phosvitin (PSV) and bioactivities of PPPs. After 12 days of incubation, a significant decrease was seen in phosphorus content of PSV. The conformational and thermal analyses indicated that PSV underwent a conformational change during incubation, and the PSV on day 12 possessed a much more unfolded structure. Correspondingly, the PPPs derived from fertilized egg PSV exhibited stronger Ca 2 + binding capacity (18.4 ppm at 600 mg/L) and antioxidant activities against DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical and lipid peroxidation than that of PPPs from unfertilized egg PSV. These results suggested that fertilized egg could be explored as a potential source of bioactive phosphopeptides.