Major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) of honeybee royal jelly (RJ) exhibit antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Although MRJPs of Apis mellifera RJ (AmMRJPs) responsible for antibacterial activity have been identified, AmMRJPs with antioxidant effects remain to be elucidated. Here we identified and compared the antioxidant activities of purified recombinant AmMRJPs 1–7, which are expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells. Antioxidant assays of recombinant AmMRJPs 1–7 against H₂O₂ revealed that AmMRJPs reduce caspase-3 activity and oxidative stress-induced cell apoptosis and lead to increased cell viability. Consistent with these results, AmMRJPs 1–7 exhibit 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity and protect against oxidative DNA damage. These results indicate that AmMRJPs play a role as antioxidants in A. mellifera RJ.

蜜蜂蜂王浆（RJ）的主要蜂王浆蛋白（MRJPs）具有抗菌和抗氧化活性。尽管已经鉴定出负责抗菌活性的蜜蜂（Apis mellifera RJ）的MRJP（AmMRJPs），但仍需阐明具有抗氧化作用的AmMRJP。在这里，我们鉴定并比较了在杆状病毒感染的昆虫细胞中表达的纯化重组AmMRJPs 1–7的抗氧化活性。重组AmMRJPs 1–7对H ₂ O _2的抗氧化测定揭示了AmMRJPs降低caspase-3活性和氧化应激诱导的细胞凋亡，并导致细胞活力增加。与这些结果一致的是，AmMRJP 1–7具有清除1,1-二苯基-2-吡啶并肼基的活性，并能防止DNA氧化损伤。这些结果表明，AmMRJPs在A. mellifera RJ中作为抗氧化剂起作用。