Preparation of whey protein hydrolysates with ACE-inhibitory activity using cysteine peptidases from Bromelia hieronymi Mez (Bromeliaceae)

Abstract

A proteolytic extract from fruits of Bromelia hieronymi was used to hydrolyse bovine whey proteins. The peptide profile obtained exhibited a gradual fading of the main whey proteins and a decrease in the content of hydrophobic peptides. The 180-min hydrolysate showed a hydrolysis degree of 15.2% and inhibited the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), showing an IC50 of 0.17 mg/mL. By bioinformatics analysis, several theoretical sequences of possible ACE-inhibitory peptides were deduced. These results showed that proteolytic extracts from B. hieronymi can be used to prepare whey hydrolysates that would serve as a potential bioactive ingredient of functional foods.