Antioxidant and anti‐acetylcholinesterase activities of anchovy (Coilia mystus) protein hydrolysates and their memory‐improving effects on scopolamine‐induced amnesia mice

Summary Anchovy protein hydrolysates (APHs) were prepared through hydrolysis for 2, 4 or 8 h (APH-2, APH-4 and APH-8, respectively). The chemical analyses, in vitro assessments [antioxidant activity and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) inhibitory activity] and in vivo mice tests were evaluated. Results revealed that APH-8 exhibited the strongest reducing power and AchE inhibitory capacity (IC50 = 159.76 ± 0.03 mg mL−1), which may be due to its specific amino acid composition and newly formed peptides. In addition, AchE inhibitory kinetics of amino acids suggested that lysine was featured of both competitive and noncompetitive inhibitors. Furthermore, the results of in vivo study showed that all APHs exhibited memory-improving action on scopolamine-induced amnesia mice especially, APH-8, indicating that anchovy protein is a potential source for health-promoting peptides.