Background: A partially hydrolysed and dried product of pacific whiting fish is currently marketed as a health food supplement to support ''intestinal health''. However, there has been only limited scientific study regarding its true biological activity. Aims: We therefore tested its efficacy in a variety of models of epithelial injury and repair. Methods: Effects on proliferation were determined using [ 3 H] thymidine incorporation into epithelial rat intestinal RIE-1 and human colonic HT29 cells. Effects on restitution (cell migration) were analysed using wounded HT29 monolayers and its ability to influence gastric injury analysed using a rat indomethacin restraint model. Partial characterisation of bioactive agents was performed using mass spectroscopy, high pressure liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography. Results: Both cell proliferation and cell migration were increased by about threefold when added at 1 mg/ml (p,0.01). Gastric injury was reduced by 59% when gavaged at 25 mg/ml (p,0.05), results similar to using the potent cytoprotective agent epidermal growth factor at 12.5 mg/ml. The vast majority of biological activity was soluble in ethanol, with glutamine in its single, di-, and tripeptide forms probably accounting for approximately 40% of the total bioactivity seen. Fatty acid constituents may also have contributed to cell migratory activity. Conclusions: Fish protein hydrolysate possesses biological activity when analysed in a variety of models of injury and repair and could provide a novel inexpensive approach for the prevention and treatment of the injurious effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other ulcerative conditions of the bowel. Further studies appear justified. N atural medicinal products have been used for millennia for the treatment of multiple ailments. Although many have been superseded by conventional pharmaceutical approaches, there is currently a resurgence of interest in the use of natural bioactive products by the general public, with many healthy subjects and patients taking them for the prevention and treatment of multiple conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders.1 Unfortunately, current evidence of the scientific validity of many of these traditional and commercial compounds is severely limited.Fermentation is a commonly used process in the standard food industry as well as in the bioactive food (nutriceutical) field. Fermented food products include those derived from milk (yogurt, cheese, kefir), soy (natto, miso), fruits (wine), vegetables (sauerkraut), and fish and meats. All have been consumed for centuries for their nutritional or medicinal properties.2 Fermentation of fish and meat was introduced as a means of preservation, and fish sauces and pastes are staples or condiments in Southeast Asian, Scandinavian, and Eskimo cultures. Fermentation of food products has many effects, including partial degradation of protein constituents which, as well as aiding absorption from the gut, may also influence its biological activity.In the current study,...

No abstract