Antiproliferative activity of peptides prepared from enzymatic hydrolysates of tuna dark muscle on human breast cancer cell line MCF-7

To produce and identify antiproliferative peptides, two commercial enzymes, papain (PA) and Protease XXIII (PR) were used to hydrolyse tuna dark muscle byproduct, and the protein hydrolysates were purified, before being evaluated for antiproliferative activities against human breast cancer cell line MCF-7. The results showed that the peptide fractions with the molecular weight ranging from 390 to 1400 Da possessed the greatest antiproliferative activity. The amino acid sequences of the two antiproliferative peptides isolated from PA and PR hydrolysates were Leu-Pro-His-Val-Leu-Thr-Pro-Glu-Ala-Gly-Ala-Thr (1206 Da) and Pro-Thr-Ala-Glu-Gly-Gly-Val-Tyr-Met-Val-Thr (1124 Da), whilst they show the dose-dependent inhibition effect of the MCF-7 cells with IC₅₀ values of 8.1 and 8.8 μM, respectively. We thus conclude that antiproliferative hydrolysates from tuna dark muscle byproduct may be useful ingredients in food and nutraceutical applications.