In Vitro and In Vivo Effects and Safety Assessment of Corn Peptides on Alcohol Dehydrogenase Activities

The in vitro and in vivo effects of corn peptides(CPs) prepared from corn gluten meal by proteolysis with an alkaline protease and fractions of CPs from Sephadex G-15 and G-10 columns on activities of alcohol dehydroge-nase(ADH) were studied. The results show that CPs and fraction 3 of CPs from Sephadex G-10 column enhance in vitro ADH activity. Furthermore, the in vitro accelerating effect of the fraction 3 of CPs on ADH activity was superior to that of glutathione, which was also found even in the presence of ADH inhibitor, such as pyrazole. In the in vivo experiments, the animals were fed with different dosages of CPs and with a dose of Chinese distilled spirit orally, and sacrificed for the measurement of ADH activity. In vivo experimental results indicate that CPS enhanced hepatic ADH activities. To test the safety of CPs as health food, 30 d feeding test was performed. No obvious toxic effects were detected in treated Wistar rats.