Identification and antimicrobial activity evaluation of three peptides from laba garlic and the related mechanism

Food Funct. 2019 Aug 1;10(8):4486-4496. doi: 10.1039/c9fo00236g. Epub 2019 Jun 26.

Abstract

Laba garlic is a traditional Chinese processed garlic (Allium sativum L.) with multiple health benefits. This study was aimed at isolating and identifying three antimicrobial peptide fractions from laba garlic using Sephadex chromatography, pre-HPLC and LC-MS/MS and investigating the potential antimicrobial mechanism. The sequences of the three peptides were demonstrated to be Tyr-Asn-His-Asn-Phe (YNHNF, F3-3-a), Trp-Pro-Thr-Ser-Phe-Thr (WPTSFT, F3-3-b) and Ala-Val-Asp-Arg-Ala-Val (AVDRAV, F3-3-c), respectively. F3-3-c showed the strongest anti-microbial effects among these three fractions and it could inhibit the mycelial growth of E. coli and S. aureus in vitro with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 100 μM and exhibited negligible hemolytic activity. F3-3-c showed amphipathic properties with the presence of α-helix (25.8 ± 0.56%), β-strands (19.7 ± 0.45%), turns (21.2 ± 0.78%) and unordered conformation (33.3 ± 1.09%). Treatment of F3-3-c resulted in a change in the morphology of the hyphae and the disruption of membrane integrity as shown by SEM and TEM analyses. These results suggested that the laba garlic peptide F3-3-c might be a promising candidate for antibiotics and related functional foods.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Cell Membrane / drug effects
  • Chromatography, Liquid
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Escherichia coli / growth & development
  • Garlic / chemistry*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Peptides / chemistry*
  • Peptides / pharmacology*
  • Plant Extracts / chemistry*
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus aureus / growth & development
  • Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Substances

  • Peptides
  • Plant Extracts