The chemical analyses of UPGP have been suggested that protein
is attached with carbohydrate by O-glycosylation. Regarding biological
activities, based on the data obtained from different phases
of digestion, UPGP was almost stable in terms of antioxidant and
DNA-protective activities during the digestion process. There was
little difference between its antioxidant and DNA protecting activitiesduring
the gastric andduodenalphases ofdigestionandthose of
undigested UPGP. Overall, our results indicate that the antioxidant
and DNA protecting activities of UPGP may be pH-dependent and
assay-specific, and suggest higher antioxidant and DNA protecting
activity in the intestine than in the stomach. Furthermore, UPGP
showed protective activity against DNA damage due to oxidative
stress both before and after in vitro duodenal digestion. Therefore,
UPGP could be an important natural and bioavailable antioxidant
and DNA-protective agent. However, further study is required to
elucidate the structure of the glycoprotein and the mechanisms of
its biofunctional activities at the molecular and biochemical levels