ACE-inhibitory activity of tilapia protein hydrolysates

Fish processing wastes can be used for preparing bioactive peptides with various functionalities. Our objective was to evaluate the in vitro angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity of tilapia protein hydrolysates and its corresponding fractionates. Tilapia protein was alkali-solubilised at pH 11.0 and recovered at pH 5.5 to obtain a stable substrate. This substrate was hydrolysed using two enzymes, Cryotin-F or Flavourzyme, to 7.5% and 25% degree of hydrolysis (DH). The hydrolysates were ultra-filtered into three fractions: >30 kDa fraction, 10–30 kDa fraction, and <10 kDa fractions. Both hydrolysates and fractionates were tested for ACE inhibition. Results showed that both Cryotin and Flavourzyme hydrolysates with 25% DH gave maximum ACE inhibitory activity. Low MW peptides showed higher ACE inhibition than high MW peptides. The inhibitory activity of fractionates was lower than that of the corresponding hydrolysates, possibly due to separation and removal of synergistic peptides by ultrafiltration. Amongst fractionates, all the 7.5% DH Cryotin fractions and 25% DH Flavourzyme fractions exhibited optimum % ACE inhibition. The results of this research could be used for optimising enzyme parameters to obtain peptides from tilapia with optimum in vitro ACE inhibitory activity.