Salmon protein hydrolysate, ProGo, may alleviate gastrointestinal inflammation, says recent animal study

Photo © iStockphoto.com/Artem_Furman

A recent study¹ investigated the effects of a salmon-derived soluble protein hydrolysate (SPH) called ProGo (from Hofseth BioCare, based in Ålesund, Norway) on gastrointestinal inflammation. The study, published in Biomolecules by MDPI, was a collaboration between Hofseth BioCare and Stanford University School of Medicine. Researchers used a 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced mouse colitis model, and randomly assigned mice to four groups: control (no colitis), colitis, colitis/CP (with control peptide treatment), and colitis/SPH (with SPH treatment). Researchers evaluated the mice’s colons for disease activity index (DAI), colon histology injury, immune cells infiltration, pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and anti-oxidative gene expression.

Results showed that administration of the SPH decreased DAI score and colon tissue injury when compared to colitis only and colitis/CP groups. Researchers found that the protective mechanisms of SPH were associated with “reduced infiltration of CD4+ T, CD8+ T and B220+ B lymphocytes but not macrophages, downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6), and upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokines (transforming growth factor-β1 and interleukin-10) in the colon tissue.”

Compared to the colitis/CP group, it was also observed that in the colons of colitis/SPH subjects there was an upregulation of anti-oxidative genes, including ferritin heavy chain 1, heme oxygenase 1, NAD(P)H quinone oxidoreductase 1, and superoxide dismutase 1. In short, SPH provided both anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effects.

“The peptides that constitute ProGo are proven to not only deliver nutritional benefits, such as collagen for skin health, but also a myriad of important health benefits, including antioxidant effects to support gut health and immunity and to sustain overall health,” said Crawford Currie, MBBS, MBA, head of Medical R&D at Hofseth BioCare, in a press release. “This latest Stanford University study underpins ProGo’s reputation as a patented product possessing properties, claims and health benefits unique to the market. Further clinical studies are in the pipeline to explore the efficacy of ProGo as a functional and targeted tool in IBD management and we look forward to discovering the full potential of this truly transformative innovation.”

Reference

Wei J et al. “Soluble protein hydrolysate ameliorates gastrointestinal inflammation and injury in 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid-induced colitis in mice.” Biomolecules, vol. 12, no. 9 (2022): 1287, https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12091287