Production of Antioxidant Peptides from Ferula Asafoetida Root Protein

In recent years, there has been much importance placed on finding novel therapeutic agents from F. asafoetida plant and it’s common name is Asafoetida. It is commonly used as a traditional medicine in Iran, Afghanistan and India. It is herbaceous plant of the Umbelliferae family and its root contains oleo gum resin which has many medicinal properties. The resin is solid or semisolid with alliaceous odor and a bitter acrid taste, which comprises ferulic acid, umbelliferone, asaresinotannols, umbelliferone ethers, gums and volatile oils. The sulfides of volatile oils are responsible for the characteristic flavor of Asafoetida [1]. Asafoetida is commonly used for cooking purpose as it is an indigenous medicine which cures sporadic disorder and stimulates digestion. Figure 1 shows the schematic representation of plant Ferula asafetida and its various applications. The free radicals are the main cause for oxidative damage to biomolecule such as DNA, proteins and lipids, which leads to many chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, aging, degenerative diseases and mainly cancer [2-5]. Formation of free radicals such as superoxide anion (O2) radical and hydroxyl (OH) radical is an unavoidable consequence in aerobic organisms during respiration. Uncontrolled generated free radicals are very unstable, and react rapidly with the other groups or substances in the body, leading to cell or tissue injury. Numerous physiological and biochemical processes in the human body may produce oxygen-centered free radicals and other reactive oxygen species as byproducts. In addition, numerous studies have revealed that uncontrolled lipid peroxidation is involved in the occurrence of numerous chronic diseases [6-8]. There is still considerable argument regarding the direct intake of natural antioxidants has been associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other diseases related with ageing [9-13]. Therefore, studying of natural plants specially bred for higher levels of antioxidant compounds is a realistic approach to increase dietary antioxidant intake. However such screening methods should be simple, inexpensive, rapidly performed, and provide a high degree of precision. Many studies have been investigated the antioxidant property of hydrolysates from different plant and Volume 1 Issue 1 2016