In this study, the whole
proteins of Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis were extracted, hydrolysis with three
proteases (
trypsin,
alcalase and
papain) was performed, and gel filtration chromatography was employed to separate hydrolysates. Totally, 15
polypeptides were isolated, which showed anti-proliferation activities on five
cancer cells (HepG-2, MCF-7, SGC-7901, A549 and HT-29), with the IC50 values between <31.25 and 336.57 μg mL(-1). Moreover, a new
peptide YGFVMPRSGLWFR was identified from
papain-digested hydrolysates. It also exhibited inhibitory activities on
cancer cells, and the best activity was observed on A549
cancer cells (IC50 values 104.05 μg mL(-1)). In other words, these
polypeptides exhibited anti-proliferation activities on
cancer cells, and low toxicity or stimulatory activity on normal cells, suggesting that they are promising ingredients in food and pharmaceutical applications.