Purification and identification of ACE inhibitory peptides from Haruan (Channa striatus) myofibrillar protein hydrolysate using HPLC–ESI-TOF MS/MS

Haruan myofibrillar protein was hydrolysed with proteinase K and thermolysin to isolate Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides. The thermolysin hydrolysate of myofibrillar protein with the highest ACE inhibition activity (IC₅₀ = 0.033 mg/ml) was fractionated by ultrafiltration and size exclusion chromatography to three fractions. Fraction F2 with higher ACE inhibitory activity was separated into five fractions (A–E) using reversed-phased high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Fraction C showed 81% inhibition activity and was subjected to HPLC coupled to electrospray ionisation-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS/MS). Two peptide sequences for the most abundant fragments were identified as VPAAPPK (IC₅₀ = 0.45 μM) at 791.155 m/z and NGTWFEPP (IC₅₀ = 0.63 μM) at 1085.841 m/z. The presence of two proline residues at the C-terminal sequence is responsible for the high ACE inhibitory activity of these peptides. The results suggest that Haruan meat protein hydrolysate is a potent ACE inhibitor and may be used to decrease blood pressure.     

A HPLC-UV method for the determination of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity

To determine the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of a fish hydrolysate, different methods were tested. Finally, a sensitive, extraction-free HPLC method using N-(3-[2-furylacryloyl)-Phe-Gly-Gly (FAPGG) as substrate was preferred. This method relies on the UV-titration of the peptide 2-furylacryloyl-l-Phe (FAP) resulting from the hydrolysis of the FAPGG after a chromatographic separation on a reverse phase column. The experimental conditions (enzyme/substrate ratio, incubation time, NaCl concentration) were optimised for linearity, sensitivity and precision. The assay was adequate for the study of ACE inhibition by Captopril, used as reference, and several peptides. Captopril and the fish hydrolysate had IC₅₀ values, respectively of 0.19 ng and 43 μg with standard deviations of 0.09 ng and 5 μg. Afterwards, the determination of the Hill coefficient sustained the hypothesis that active peptides present in the fish hydrolysate were low-molecular weight molecules. This result was confirmed by the activity measurement of the fish hydrolysate fractions obtained by gel filtration.     

Antioxidative and ACE inhibitory activities in enzymatic hydrolysates of the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis

The larvae of the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, were used as a source of food proteins exerting possible biological activities. A simulated gastrointestinal digestion (IC₅₀ = 320 μg/ml) and digestion by mucosal enzymes (IC₅₀ = 211 μg/ml) reveals a significantly higher in vitro ACE inhibitory activity compared to hydrolysis using thermolysin (IC₅₀ = 1392 μg/ml) and alcalase (IC₅₀ = 827 μg/ml) as pretreatment. This indicates that the choice of enzymes to generate ACE inhibitory peptides is important. All hydrolysates were also tested for antioxidant activity using two tests: a radical scavenging test using DPPH and the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and they showed a similar antioxidant activity which was relatively low compared to the standard antioxidants BHT and vitamin C. As a conclusion, the data obtained suggest that insect protein can be used to generate hydrolysates, exerting both ACE inhibitory and antioxidant activity, which might be incorporated as multifunctional ingredient into functional foods.     

Kinetics of the inhibition of renin and angiotensin I-converting enzyme by flaxseed protein hydrolysate fractions

Enzymatic hydrolysates from flaxseed protein were investigated for in vitro inhibition of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) and renin activities. Pepsin, ficin, trypsin, papain, thermolysin, pancreatin and Alcalase were used to hydrolyze flaxseed proteins followed by fractionation using ultrafiltration to isolate low-molecular-weight peptides, and separation of the Alcalase hydrolysate into cationic peptide fractions. Using N-(3-[2-furyl]acryloyl)-phenylalanylglycylglycine as substrate, the protein hydrolysates showed a concentration-dependent ACE inhibition (IC₅₀, 0.0275–0.151 mg/ml) with thermolysin hydrolysate and Alcalase cationic peptide fraction I (FI) showing the most potent activity. Flaxseed peptide fractions also showed no or moderate inhibitory activities against human recombinant renin (IC₅₀, 1.22–2.81 mg/ml). Kinetics studies showed that the thermolysin hydrolysate and FI exhibited mixed-type pattern of ACE inhibition whereas cationic peptide fraction II inhibited renin in uncompetitive fashion. These results show that the protein components of flaxseed meal possess peptide amino acid sequences that can be exploited as potential food sources of anti-hypertensive agents.     

The impact of fermentation and in vitro digestion on formation angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides from pea proteins

Pea seeds were fermented by Lactobacillus plantarum 299v in monoculture under different time and temperature conditions and the fermented products were digested in vitro under gastrointestinal conditions. After fermentation and digestion ACE inhibitory activity was determined. In all samples after fermentation no ACE inhibitory activity was noted. Potentially antihypertensive peptides were released during in vitro digestion. The highest DH (68.62%) were noted for control sample, although the lowest IC₅₀ value (0.19 mg/ml) was determined for product after 7 days fermentation at 22 °C. The hydrolysate characterised by the highest ACE inhibitory activity was separated on Sephadex G10 and two peptides fractions were obtained. The highest ACE inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 64.04 μg/ml) for the first fraction was noted. This fraction was separated by HPLC and identified by LC–MS/MS and the sequence of peptide derived from pea proteins was determined as KEDDEEEEQGEEE.     

LC–MS/MS coupled with QSAR modeling in characterising of angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides from soybean proteins

The importance of soy products in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease is well documented. Our previous computation study has indicated the presence of several potent ACE inhibitory peptides within soybean proteins which needs to be identified. The aim of the study was to identify ACE inhibitory peptides from soy proteins using LC–MS/MS coupled with quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) model. Soybean protein hydrolysate digested by thermolysin showed an IC₅₀ value of 53.6 μg/mL, decreased slightly to 51.8 μg/mL after adding pepsin, and increased to 115.6 μg/mL after adding trypsin. A total of 34 peptides were characterised from LC–MS/MS. Five novel tripeptides, IVF, LLF, LNF, LSW and LEF, with predicted IC₅₀ values lower than 10 μM were synthesized and validated. The results showed that soybean is an excellent source of ACE inhibitory peptides.     

Effect of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory peptide purified from skate skin hydrolysate

Our objective was to evaluate the angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of skate skin protein hydrolysates and its corresponding fractions. The skate skin hydrolysates were obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis using alcalase, α-chymotrypsin, neutrase, pepsin, papain, and trypsin. Amongst the six hydrolysates, the α-chymotrypsin hydrolysate had the highest ACE inhibitory activity compared to other hydrolysates. The amino acid sequences of the purified peptides were identified to be Pro–Gly–Pro–Leu–Gly–Leu–Thr–Gly–Pro (975.38 Da), and Gln–Leu–Gly–Phe–Leu–Gly–Pro–Arg (874.45 Da). The purified peptides from skate skin had an IC₅₀ value of 95 μM and 148 μM, respectively, and the Lineweaver–Burk plots suggest that they act as a non-competitive inhibitor against ACE. Our study suggested that novel ACE inhibitory peptides derived from skate skin protein may be beneficial as anti-hypertension compounds in functional foods.     

Chemical characterisation and determination of sensory attributes of hydrolysates produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of whey proteins following a novel integrative process

The overall aim of this work was to characterise the major angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of whey proteins, through the application of a novel integrative process. This process consisted of the combination of adsorption and microfiltration within a stirred cell unit for the selective immobilisation of β-lactoglobulin and casein-derived peptides (CDP) from whey. The adsorbed proteins were hydrolysed in situ, which resulted in the separation of peptide products from the substrate and fractionation of peptides. Two different hydrolysates were produced: (i) from CDP (IC₅₀ = 287 μg/mL) and (ii) from β-lactoglobulin (IC₅₀ = 128 μg/mL). The well-known antihypertensive peptide IPP and several novel peptides that have structural similarities with reported ACE inhibitory peptides were identified and characterised in both hydrolysates. Furthermore, the hydrolysates were assessed for bitterness. No significant difference was found between the bitterness of the control (milk with no hydrolysate) and hydrolysate samples at different concentrations (at, below and above the IC₅₀).     

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory properties and SDS-PAGE of red lentil protein hydrolysates

Several research studies have shown that protein hydrolysates from milk and soy contain peptides that possess angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory properties and may help to prevent hypertension. To date, no studies have been conducted to determine if red lentil (Lens culinaris) proteins contain peptides with ACE-inhibitory properties. The objective of the present work was to characterize the proteins present in red lentils and determine if tryptic hydrolysis could liberate peptides with ACE-inhibitory properties. Red lentil protein extracts were prepared and fractionated to obtain enriched albumin, legumin and vicilin fractions. Protein/peptide profiles were studied by electrophoresis and ACE-inhibitory activity was measured using the HPLC hippuryl-His-Leu (HHL) substrate method. Our results revealed that red lentil protein hydrolysates posses ACE-inhibitory properties. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the ACE-inhibitory property of the hydrolysates varied as a function of the protein fraction with the total lentil protein hydrolysate having the lowest half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) (111 ± 1 μmol/L) (i.e., highest ACE-inhibitory activity), followed by the enriched legumin (119 ± 0.5 μmol/L), albumin (127 ± 2 μmol/L) and vicilin (135 ± 2 μmol/L) fractions, respectively.     

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor derived from soy protein hydrolysate and produced by using membrane reactor

Five different proteolytic enzymes, including Alcalase, Flavourzyme, trypsin, chymotrypsin and pepsin were employed to hydrolyze isolated soy protein (ISP) to produce the hydrolysates, respectively. The result indicated that hydrolysis of ISP for 0.5–6 h with Alcalase produced the highest ACE inhibitory activity. Therefore, Alcalase was selected for further study on optimization of hydrolysis conditions. The optimum conditions for Alcalase to hydrolyze ISP to produce the lowest IC₅₀ value were: E/S = 0.01, hydrolysis temperature = 50 °C, pH 9.0 and hydrolysis time = 6 h. Under these conditions, the IC₅₀ value of ISP was significantly reduced from 66.4 to 0.67 mg protein/ml. The lower IC₅₀ value represented the higher the ACE inhibitory activity. Moreover, several membranes with molecular weight cut-offs (MWCFs) of 1000–30,000Da were used to filter the hydrolysate. The 10 kDa permeate obtained from the treatment of the hydrolysate by 10,000 Da MWCF membrane could further reduce its IC₅₀ value from 0.668 to 0.078 mg protein/ml with a peptide recovery of 67.5%. An operation stability study showed that the membrane reactor system could maintain a steady production of ISP hydrolysate for over 8 h. The in vitro effect of gastrointestinal protease on ACE inhibitory activity of 10 kDa permeate was also investigated. The results suggested that gastrointestinal proteases have very little effect on the ACE inhibitory activity of 10 kDa permeate.     

Purification and characterisation of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory peptides from lysozyme hydrolysates

Hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) was hydrolysed with trypsin, papain and a combination of the two. The prepared hydrolysates exhibited ACE inhibitory activity. The hydrolysates were fractionated using ultrafiltration and reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Three fractions, which showed the highest ACE inhibitory activities, were purified by RP-HPLC. They were the F₇ (from papain-trypsin hydrolysate), F₈ (from papain hydrolysate) and F₃ (from trypsin hydrolysate) fractions. The IC₅₀ values were 0.03, 0.155 and 0.23 mg/ml for F₇, F₈ and F₃, respectively. The F₇ fraction was the most potent ACE inhibitor peptide, and was composed of 12 amino acids, Phe-Glu-Ser-Asn-Phe-Asn-Thr-Gln-Ala-Thr-Asn-Arg (MW: 1428.6 Da). Lineweaver-Burk plots suggest that the F₇ peptide acts as an uncompetitive inhibitor against ACE. The kinetic parameters (K_m, V_max, and K_i) for the F₇ peptide were measured and compared to the control.     

Angiotensin I‐converting enzyme inhibitory peptides FQPSF and LKYPI identified in Bacillus subtilis A26 hydrolysate of thornback ray muscle

Angiotensin I‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides have been searched in thornback ray (Raja clavata) muscle hydrolysed with Bacillus subtilis A26 proteases until a hydrolysis degree of 18.35%. The hydrolysate showed an IC₅₀ of 0.83 mg mL^?1. To identify peptides responsible for this activity, the extract was eluted through size‐exclusion chromatography and fractions collected. The highest ACE inhibitory activity was found for fractions F2 and F3 which had IC₅₀ of 0.42 and 0.51 mg mL^?1, respectively. These fractions were analysed by nano‐liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (nLC‐MS/MS). A total of 131 and 108 peptide sequences mainly derived from actin, myosin heavy chain and procollagen alpha 1 chain proteins were identified in fractions F2 and F3, respectively. FQPSF and LKYPI showed the best results with an IC₅₀ of 12.56 and 27.07 μM, respectively. These results prove the potential of thornback ray muscle hydrolysate as a source of ACE inhibitory peptides.     

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities of sardinelle (Sardinella aurita) by-products protein hydrolysates obtained by treatment with microbial and visceral fish serine proteases

The angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activities of protein hydrolysates prepared from heads and viscera of sardinelle (Sardinella aurita) by treatment with various proteases were investigated. Protein hydrolysates were obtained by treatment with Alcalase^®, chymotrypsin, crude enzyme preparations from Bacillus licheniformis NH1 and Aspergillus clavatus ES1, and crude enzyme extract from sardine (Sardina pilchardus) viscera. All hydrolysates exhibited inhibitory activity towards ACE. The alkaline protease extract from the viscera of sardine produced hydrolysate with the highest ACE inhibitory activity (63.2 ± 1.5% at 2 mg/ml). Further, the degrees of hydrolysis and the inhibitory activities of ACE increased with increasing proteolysis time. The protein hydrolysate generated with alkaline proteases from the viscera of sardine was then fractionated by size exclusion chromatography on a Sephadex G-25 into eight major fractions (P₁–P₈). Biological functions of all fractions were assayed, and P₄ was found to display a high ACE inhibitory activity. The IC₅₀ values for ACE inhibitory activities of sardinelle by-products protein hydrolysates and fraction P₄ were 1.2 ± 0.09 and 0.81 ± 0.013 mg/ml, respectively. Further, P₄ showed resistance to in vitro digestion by gastrointestinal proteases. The amino acid analysis by GC/MS showed that P₄ was rich in phenylalanine, arginine, glycine, leucine, methionine, histidine and tyrosine. The added-value of sardinelle by-products may be improved by enzymatic treatment with visceral serine proteases from sardine.     

Foaming properties of tryptic gliadin hydrolysate peptide fractions

A tryptic gliadin hydrolysate was separated into central domain (CD) or terminal domain (TD) related peptide fractions. Whereas the initial foam volume (FV) of CD peptide fractions remained constant as a function of pH, FV of TD peptide fractions increased from acidic to alkaline pH. Foam stability (FS) of CD peptide fractions was maximal near neutral pH. For TD peptide fractions, one fraction showed maximal FS at strongly alkaline pH, while the other showed no clear maximal FS. CD related peptide foams contained higher levels of hydrophobic peptides than the respective solutions, while small differences were observed for TD peptide fractions. Peptide compositions of foams did not vary with pH, indicating that the foaming properties of gliadin peptides are mainly dictated by charges. As the pH dependent foaming properties of TD related peptides resemble best those of gliadin, it was concluded that the pH dependent foaming properties of gliadins are mainly determined by their TDs.     

Comparison of analytical methods to assay inhibitors of angiotensin I-converting enzyme

The linearity, precision and repeatability of visible spectrophotometric (VSP) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods for analysis of inhibitory activity of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) were compared by using several inhibitors and Hip-His-Leu (HHL) as substrates. IC₅₀ values (concentration at which ACE activity is inhibited by 50%) of 0.00206 ± 0.00005 μg/mL for captopril, 192 ± 4.53 μg/mL for soybean peptides, and 153 ± 4.29 μg/mL for grass carp peptides determined by the VSP method, and these values were 1.07, 1.07, 1.18 and 1.44-fold, respectively, higher than those from the HPLC method. In addition, the inhibitory constant (K_i value) of captopril was determined to be 7.09 nM and 4.94 nM using VSP and HPLC method, respectively. These results showed that the HPLC method revealed a higher level of sensitivity and precision, suitable for assaying ACE inhibition activity of antihyper-sensitive peptides. In contrast, the VSP method can simultaneously measure several samples with simple operations, suitable for analysis of ACE inhibition activity of food protein enzymatic hydrolysates.     

QSAR-aided in silico approach in evaluation of food proteins as precursors of ACE inhibitory peptides

An increasing prevalence of hypertension in the world implies the necessity of further study of antihypertensive peptides as an alternative means for hypertension management. The purpose of this study was to evaluate systematically the potential of major food proteins as precursors of ACE inhibitory peptides using QSAR-aided in silico approach, and thus to establish the rationale for choosing the appropriate substrate proteins in preparing ACE inhibitory peptides. In silico digestion of proteins from 15 common food commodities by thermolysin generated 5709 peptides ranging from 2 to 6 amino acid residues. Peptides were divided into three categories based on the potency of their predicted activities. Our results showed that meat proteins from pork, beef and chicken contain the largest number of potent peptides (IC₅₀ < 10 ??M), followed by proteins from milk, egg, soybean and canola, whereas proteins from fish (with the exception of salmon) and cereals (oat and barley) contain the least number of potent peptides. This study demonstrated that proteins from livestock meat, milk, egg, soybean and canola are good sources of ACE inhibitory peptides.     

Chymotryptic hydrolysates of α-kafirin,the storage protein of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) exhibited angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity

Kafirin is the main storage protein (prolamin) in sorghum grains. α-Kafirin, the alcohol soluble fraction, was isolated from sorghum flour. Treatment of α-kafirin with chymotrypsin yielded a hydrolysate which on fractionation, using Sephadex G-25 column, yielded four fractions with significant angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity in vitro. The IC₅₀ values of these fractions ranged from 1.3 to 24.3 μg/ml. Two of the fractions were found to be competitively inhibiting the enzyme, while two other fractions were non-competitive inhibitors. These results demonstrate that chymotryptic hydrolysates of sorghum prolamin could serve as a good source of peptides with angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory activity.     

Two Novel Bioactive Peptides from Antarctic Krill with Dual Angiotensin Converting Enzyme and Dipeptidyl Peptidase IV Inhibitory Activities

Inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP‐IV) and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) are considered useful in managing 2 often associated conditions: diabetes and hypertension. In this study, corolase PP was used to hydrolyze Antarctic krill protein. The hydrolysate (AKH) was isolated by ultrafiltration and purified by size‐exclusion chromatography, ion exchange chromatography and reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (RP‐HPLC) sequentially. The in vitro inhibitory activities of all AKHs and several fractions obtained against ACE and DPP‐IV were assessed. Two peptides, purified with dual‐strength inhibitory activity against ACE and DPP‐IV, were identified by TOF‐MS/MS. Results indicated that not all fractions exhibited dual inhibitory activities of ACE and DPP‐IV. The purified peptide Lys‐Val‐Glu‐Pro‐Leu‐Pro had half‐maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of 0.93±0.05 and 0.73±0.04 mg/mL against ACE and DPP‐IV, respectively. The other peptide Pro‐Ala‐Leu had IC₅₀ values of 0.64±0.05 and 0.88±0.03 mg/mL against ACE and DPP‐IV, respectively. This study firstly reported the sequences of dual bioactive peptides from Antarctic krill proteins, further provided new insights into the bioactive peptides responsible for the ACE and DPP‐IV inhibitory activities from the Antarctic krill protein hydrolysate to manage hypertension and diabetes.     

Biologically active peptides obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of Adzuki bean seeds

This study investigated the antioxidant and antihypertensive activities of peptides obtained from protein fractions of Adzuki bean seeds. Peptides were obtained by the use of hydrolytic enzymes in vitro under gastrointestinal conditions. A determination was made of the activity of the peptide inhibitors of the angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE), and the antiradical and ion chelating activity of peptides from different protein fractions. The highest peptide levels after the absorption process (<7 kDa) were noted in the albumin fraction (50.69 μg/ml). Furthermore, it was found that peptides from the prolamin fraction were characterised by the highest antiradical activity and ACE inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 0.17 mg/ml). Peptides obtained from the globulin fraction showed the highest ability to chelate iron ions, and peptides from the glutelin fraction were characterised as being the most effective in the chelation of copper ions.     

α 67-106 of bovine hemoglobin: a new family of antimicrobial and angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides

Protein hydrolysates are of a significant interest, due to their potential application as a source of bioactive peptides in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical domains. The present study was focused on bovine hemoglobin hydrolysate obtained with pig pepsin in the presence of 30% ethanol. This hydrolysate was fractioned by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) into 12 major fractions (F₁–F₁₂). All fractions were analyzed by ESI/MS and ESI/MS/MS, in order to characterize and identify the peptides in these fractions. This hydrolysis permitted to generate a new serial of bioactive peptides with both antimicrobial and ACE inhibitory activities. Identified peptides were TKAVEHLDDLPGALSELSDLHAHKLRVDPVNFKLLSHSLL, LDDLPGALSELSDLHAHKLRVDPVNFKLLSHSL, KLLSHSL, and LLSHSL corresponding respectively to the 67-106, 73-105, 99-105, and 100-105 fragments of the α chain of bovine hemoglobin. They were the first found from bovine hemoglobin. These purified peptides have an antibacterial activity against four bacteria strains: Kocuria luteus A270, Listeria innocua, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus with a MIC between 187.1 and 35.2 μM. On the other hand, these peptides displayed at the same time ACE inhibitory activity with an IC₅₀ range from 42.55 to 1,095 μM.