AUTHOR=Liu Tengfei , Zou Lifang , Ji Xiaowen , Xiao Guiran 

TITLE=Chicken skin-derived collagen peptides chelated zinc promotes zinc absorption and represses tumor growth and invasion in vivo by suppressing autophagy

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.960926

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.960926

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p>To improve the utilization value of chicken by-products, we utilized the method of step-by-step hydrolysis with bromelain and flavourzyme to prepare low molecular weight chicken skin collagen peptides (CCP) (&lt;5 kDa) and characterized the amino acids composition of the CCP. Then, we prepared novel CCP-chelated zinc (CCP–Zn) by chelating the CCP with ZnSO<sub>4</sub>. We found that the bioavailability of CCP–Zn is higher than ZnSO<sub>4</sub>. Besides, CCP, ZnSO<sub>4</sub>, or CCP–Zn effectively repressed the tumor growth, invasion, and migration in a <italic>Drosophila</italic> malignant tumor model. Moreover, the anti-tumor activity of CCP–Zn is higher than CCP or ZnSO<sub>4</sub>. Furthermore, the functional mechanism studies indicated that CCP, ZnSO<sub>4</sub>, or CCP–Zn inhibits tumor progression by reducing the autonomous and non-autonomous autophagy in tumor cells and the microenvironment. Therefore, this research provides <italic>in vivo</italic> evidence for utilizing chicken skin in the development of zinc supplements and cancer treatment in the future.</p>