Targeted screening of baicalein inhibitor with controlling lipid and protein oxidation for quality preservation of grass carp fillets

In this study, targeted screening of candidate polyphenols was conducted by docking methods and inhibition assay. Baicalein (BCL) was identified as the target polyphenol, with IC50 value and docking score of 27.16 mu mol/L and-7 kcal/mol, respectively. During the chilled storage of grass carp fillets at 4 degrees C, baicalein has been shown to reduce the degree of lipid oxidation by inhibiting the activity of lipase and lipoxygenase effectively and enhancing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, which is manifested by a decrease in thiobarbituric acid values and peroxide value. Baicalein has also been proved to have the ability to reduce protein oxidation by decreasing carbonyl content and sulfhydryl content of grass carp protein. Furthermore, baicalein can significantly eliminate the degree of protein hydrolysis of grass carp fillets by regulating the activity of cathepsin B and cathepsin L. The results suggest that baicalein expects to become a potential natural fresh-keeping agent for aquatic product industry and provides some new insights into understanding of the mechanism of fish quality preservation.