Laccase mediated-synthesis of hydroxycinnamoyl-peptide from ferulic acid and carnosine

Results showed that this enzymatic process led to the synthesis of two new derivatives (P1, P2), from the coupling between CAR and FA derived products. Conditions allowing a high production of P1, P2 derivatives were determined with an optimal ratio of (FA: CAR) of (1:1.6) at optimal time reaction of 8 h. Under these optimal conditions, the coupling between CAR and FA-products was demonstrated, resulting in the decrease of −NH2 groups (almost 50%) as quantified via derivatization. Due to the presence of FA in the structure of these new derivatives, they exhibited higher hydrophobic property than carnosine. Structural analyses by mass spectrometry showed that P1 and P2 (FA-CAR) derivatives exhibited the same molecular mass (MM 770 g/mol) containing one CAR-molecule and three FA-molecules but with different chemical structures. Furthermore, these derivatives presented improved antioxidant (almost 10 times) and anti-proliferative (almost 18 times) properties in comparison with CAR. Moreover, P1 derivative exhibited higher antioxidant and anti-proliferative activities than P2 derivative, which confirmed the different structures of P1 and P2. These results suggested that the oxidized phenols coupling with carnosine is a promising process to enhance the CAR-properties.