Purification, identification and hypoglycemic activity in vitro of a novel peptide from red deer antler

This study was aimed at isolating a peptide with hypoglycemic activity from dried red deer antler. A peptide from dried red deer antler of Tarim in Xingjiang was extracted with acetate buffer(pH 3. 5), followed by precipitation with ethanol, ultrafiltration and separation via ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration and reversed phase chromatography. The molecular mass of the peptide was detected via MALDI TOF/MS and the peptide was identified by LC-MS/MS. The activities of the peptide to promote islet β cells proliferation and recovery the damage induced by streptozotocin(STZ)were detected by MTT, and the effect of the peptide on glucose consumption of hepatocyte was determined. The peptide, named as CAP, was obtained from dried red deer antler through purification with the molecular mass of 6 804 via MALDI TOF/MS. The result of LC-MS/MS and the comparison in relative database showed that CAP was a novel peptide. CAP stimulated the proliferation of pancreatic cells and recovery of STZ-damaged pancreatic cells, as well as increased glucose consumption of HepG2.