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.