Comprehensive experimental design for the functional evaluation of marine food enzymatic hydrolysates in alleviating mental fatigue
[Objective]Long-term fatigue increases the risk of various diseases and poses a serious threat to physical and mental health.Marine foods contain valuable,high-quality proteins,and sea cucumbers and oysters are rich in nutritional ingredients.Although various studies have shown that enzymatic hydrolysates from sea cucumbers and oysters have antifatigue nutritional benefits,current research mostly focuses on their role in combating physical fatigue,with no reported effects on mental fatigue.In this study,an innovative,comprehensive experiment was designed to evaluate the functionality of sea cucumber and oyster enzymatic hydrolysates in alleviating mental fatigue using a mouse model.[Methods]Enzymatic hydrolysates of sea cucumbers and oysters were prepared through enzymatic hydrolysis using complex protein enzymes,and their amino acid compositions were measured using an automated amino acid analyzer.Moreover,a mouse model of mental fatigue was established by administering corticosterone via subcutaneous injection for 4 weeks.The mental fatigue mice were divided into three groups:the model group,the sea cucumber hydrolysate group,and the oyster hydrolysate group.Normal mice were used as the control group.The dose of hydrolysates administered orally was 200 mg/kg body weight.The effects of sea cucumber and oyster hydrolysates on endurance,anxiety-like behavior,and depression-like behavior were investigated through exhaustive running tests,open field tests,elevated plus maze tests,and tail suspension tests.Moreover,neurotransmitter levels in the brain were measured to elucidate possible related mechanisms.[Results]The results showed that the amino acids with the highest content in the sea cucumber hydrolysate were glycine,glutamic acid,aspartic acid,arginine,and proline,while the amino acids with the highest content in the oyster hydrolysate were glutamic acid,taurine,aspartic acid,and lysine.Dietary supplementation with sea cucumber and oyster hydrolysate considerably enhanced endurance performance,leading to a 27.6％and 22.1％increase in exhaustive running time for mentally fatigued mice,respectively.Moreover,both sea cucumber and oyster hydrolysate alleviated anxiety-like behavior in mentally fatigued mice,with sea cucumber hydrolysate showing a more significant effect.Furthermore,both hydrolysates improved depressive mood in corticosterone-induced mentally fatigued mice,with oyster hydrolysate showing a more significant effect than sea cucumber hydrolysate.In addition,no significant difference in the 5-HT/5-HIAA ratio was observed between the model group mice and the normal control group.Notably,the sea cucumber and oyster hydrolysate groups showed 16.1％and 12.5％higher 5-HT/5-HIAA ratios than the model group,respectively.These results indicate that the significant improvement in mental fatigue by both hydrolysates is attributable to the modulation of neurotransmitter levels.[Conclusions]Enzymatic hydrolysis was employed to prepare sea cucumber and oyster hydrolysates,and the nutritional functions of both hydrolysates in alleviating mental fatigue were determined.The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for the development and utilization of sea cucumber and oyster hydrolysates in functional foods aimed at alleviating mental fatigue.This comprehensive experiment combines various experimental techniques,such as deep processing of marine biological resources,food testing and analysis,food nutrition analysis,and functional food development.This approach helps improve student enthusiasm,deepen theoretical knowledge,and cultivate innovative thinking and experimental skills.
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