Synergistic enhancement of antioxidant and cytoprotective activities in Lonicerae japonicae flos enzymatic hydrolysate via co-fermentation: metabolomics unraveling key biotransformation pathways
摘要
Fermentation can enhance the bioactivity of Lonicera japonica flos, yet the effects of co-fermentation and the underlying metabolic mechanisms are not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate how fermentation improves the antioxidant and cytoprotective activities of L. japonica enzymatic hydrolysate, and to identify the key biotransformation using LC/MS-based metabolomics. Results showed that the ·OH scavenging rate of Lactobacillus plantarum and mixed strain groups increased by 23% and 13%; the DPPH· scavenging rate of Saccharomyces cerevisiae group increased by 10%; and the cytoprotective activity of mixed strain group increased by 32%, respectively. Besides, metabolomics identified a total of 576, 358, and 651 differential metabolites in each group. The levels of benzoic acids, coumaric acids, cinnamic acids and flavonoids in L. plantarum and S. cerevisiae groups significantly increased. The L. plantarum group separately detected the increase of amino acids, quinic acids, terpene glycosides, and catechin. The changes of metabolites level in mixed strain group were similar to the single strain groups, while the change fold was smaller. Moreover, the correlation analysis revealed a significantly positive correlation between the level of demethyltexasin, ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, and eriodictyol with antioxidant activity. Additionally, the level of taxifolin, paeonol, riboflavin were significantly positively correlated with cytoprotective activity. This study finds that co-fermentation with L. plantarum and S. cerevisiae could improve the cytoprotective activity of L. japonicae enzymatic hydrolysate, and revealed the potential biotransformation pathway of active substances through metabolomics.