Peptide extracts from tempeh protect against photoaging via downregulating matrix metalloproteinase-3 gene expression

Abstract

Photoaging damages skin tissue via activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and MMP-3 induces activation of MMP-1 and 9. Tempeh is made from fermented soybean in Indonesia and has been known for its high protein content. This study was aimed to investigate the effectiveness of peptide extracts from tempeh against photoaging at gene level in UVBtreated mice. Peptide was extracted from soybean and black soybean tempeh, and identified for its amino acid profiling. Photoaging model was made by gradient UVB exposure to seven groups of mice for 4 weeks. Mice were supplemented with 100 and 300 mg/kg body weight dosages of peptide extracts from soybean and black soybean tempeh. Dorsal skin tissue was collected for histology staining and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). This present study found that both tempeh peptide extracts were rich in glutamic acid and branched-chain amino acids. Histology staining showed that tempeh protected mice skin from photoaging. At 100 and 300 mg/kg, both tempeh peptide extracts significantly attenuated MMP-3gene expression that lead to the decrease level of MMP-1 and MMP-9 gene expression. These results suggest that supplementation of both tempeh peptide extracts may possess antiphotoaging effect via altering MMP-3 gene expression in UVB-treated mice.