Preparation of hydrolyzed peptides from spirulina algae protein and their encapsulation in nanoliposome systems and their effectiveness study on skin aging process

Abstract

Introduction: Spirulina platensis is a type of blue-green algae that contains large amounts of protein with therapeutic effects. Objective: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of spirulina protein hydrolysis encapsulated with nanoliposomes in skin rejuvenation.Methods: First, proteins extracted from spirulina algae were hydrolyzed by pepsin, trypsin, etc. enzymes and loaded into nanoliposome systems. Toxicity studies using MTT method on cell line (HFF-2) showed that hydrolyzed peptides increased cell growth. For the in vivo study, 70 mice were divided into 4 groups, including mice treated with empty nanoliposomes, spirulina protein hydrolysis, nanoliposomes loaded with spirulina protein hydrolysis, and the commercial group, and 2 control groups. To create an aging model, mice were exposed to UV radiation for 30 minutes daily for 1 month, and D-galactose sugar was injected subcutaneously. The products were used for 2 months. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to investigate Elastin and COL1A and western blot was performed to investigate the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9 and JNK.Results: The results showed that the group of mice treated with skin aging showed fibroblast proliferation and higher expression for MMP2, MMP9, JNK, Elastin and COL1A compared to blanks and other groups. The nanoliposomes loaded with spirulina protein hydrolysis showed the size and zeta potential of 158 nm and -48 mV, respectively.Conclusion: In this study, we found out that Spirulina algae proteins that are hydrolyzed by different enzymes show different biological properties. Spirulina peptide hydrolysis increased the population of HFF2 cells. Based on the findings of the in vivo section, the encapsulation of spirulina algae peptide hydrolysis by NLP accelerated the skin rejuvenation process by increasing the expression of Elastin and COL1A, decreasing the expression of JNK. In conclusion, the developed algae-based nanostructured gel can be a potential candidate for application in skin rejuvenation after comprehensive studies.