Anna Dąbrowska

Egg-yolk protein by-product as a source of ACE-inhibitory peptides obtained with using unconventional proteinase from Asian pumpkin (Cucurbita ficifolia)

UNLABELLED In the present study angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides were isolated from egg-yolk protein preparation (YP). Enzymatic hydrolysis conducted using unconventional enzyme from Cucurbita ficifolia (dose: 1000 U/mg of hydrolyzed YP (E/S (w/w)=1:7.52)) was employed to obtain protein hydrolysates. The 4-h hydrolysate exhibited a significant (IC₅₀=482.5 μg/mL) ACE inhibitory activity. Moreover, hydrolysate showed no cytotoxic activity on human and animal cell lines which makes it a very useful multifunctional method for peptide preparation. The compiled isolation procedure (ultrafiltration, size-exclusion chromatography and RP-HPLC) of bioactive peptides from YP hydrolysate resulted in obtaining peptides with the strong ACE inhibitory activity. One homogeneous and three heterogeneous peptide fractions were identified. The peptides were composed of 9-18 amino-acid residues, including mainly arginine and leucine at the N-terminal positions. To confirm the selected bioactive peptide sequences their analogs were chemically synthesized and tested. Peptide LAPSLPGKPKPD showed the strongest ACE inhibitory activity, with IC₅₀ value of 1.97 μmol/L. BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE Peptides with specific biological activity can be used in pharmaceutical, cosmetic or food industries. Because of their potential role as physiological modulators, as well as theirhigh safety profile, they can be used as natural pharmacological compounds or functional food ingredients. The development of biotechnological solutions to obtain peptides with desired biological activity is already in progress. Studies in this area are focused on using unconventional highly specific enzymes and more efficient methods developed to conduct food process technologies. Natural peptides have many advantages. They are mainly toxicologically safe, have wide spectra of therapeutic actions, exhibit less side effects compared to synthetic drugs and are more efficiently absorbed in the intestinal tract. The complexity of operation of large scale technologies and high cost of purification techniques are limiting factors to the commercialization of food-derived bioactive peptides. Research on the isolation of bioactive peptides in order to reduce the processing time and costs is continuously developing. Bioactive peptides can also be released from protein by-products of the food industry, which reduce the substrate expense and production cost as well as provide the added advantage of an efficient waste disposal. Moreover, proteins as precursors of food-derived peptides are well-tolerated by the human body and therefore their application in drug development may reduce costs and duration of toxicological studies during research, development and clinical trials.

An attractive way of egg white protein by-product use for producing of novel anti-hypertensive peptides

The aim of this study was to (i) examine how enzymatic hydrolysis with a non-commercially available proteinase of fig-leaf gourd fruit (Cucurbita ficifolia) increased the use value of egg white protein preparations, generated as byproducts in the industrial process of lysozyme and cystatin isolation from egg white, and (ii) evaluate the inhibition of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) by the obtained hydrolysates. Purification procedures including membrane filtration, gel filtration chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) led to the production of several peptide fractions. Two novel ovalbumin-derived tetrapeptides: SWVE (f 148-151) and DILN (f 86-89) with ACE inhibitory activity were obtained. Study of their inhibitory kinetics revealed a non-competitive binding mode, with an IC50 value against ACE of 33.88 and 73.44 μg for SWVE and DILN, respectively. Synthetic peptides which were designed on the basis of peptide SWVE were examined. A tripeptide sequence of SWV revealed the strongest ACE-inhibitory activity.

Antioxidant and antidiabetic activities of peptides isolated from a hydrolysate of an egg-yolk protein by-product prepared with a proteinase from Asian pumpkin (Cucurbita ficifolia)

Bioactive peptides derived from food have been increasingly popular due to their therapeutic properties. Of particular importance are peptides with a multidirectional activity that can be used in the treatment and prevention of diet-related diseases. This paper attempts to utilize a by-product of phospholipid extraction from egg yolk as a source of peptides with a broad spectrum of biological activity. In addition, in this research we used a non-commercial enzyme obtained from Asian pumpkin, which has not been sufficiently researched in terms of its ability to release biopeptides from food proteins. In the present study the biological properties of peptides, derived from egg-yolk protein by-products (YP) remaining after phospholipid extraction, and their four synthetic analogs were investigated with regard to their antioxidant (radical scavenging capacity, Fe2+ chelating effect, reducing power (FRAP)) and antidiabetic (α-glucosidase and DPP-IV inhibitory activities) properties. One of them, with the sequence LAPSLPGKPKPD, exhibited the highest antioxidant activity (free radical scavenging activity (6.03 μM Troloxeq per mg protein); FRAP (296.07 μg Fe2+ per mg protein)). This peptide also revealed the strongest DPP-IV (361.5 μmol L−1) and α-glucosidase (1065.6 μmol L−1) inhibitory activities, a novel multifunctional effect for peptides from an egg-yolk hydrolysate.

Biological and functional properties of proteolytic enzyme-modified egg protein by-products

Enzymatic hydrolysis led to improve functional properties and biological activity of protein by-products, which can be further used as protein ingredients for food and feed applications. The effects of proteolytic enzyme modification of egg-yolk protein preparation (YP) and white protein preparation (WP), obtained as the by-products left during the course of lecithin, lysozyme, and cystatin isolation on their biological and functional properties, were evaluated by treating a commercial Neutrase. The antihypertensive and antioxidative properties of YP and WP hydrolysates were evaluated based on their angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity and radical scavenging (DPPH) capacity, ferric reducing power, and chelating of iron activity. The functionality of obtained hydrolysates was also determined. Neutrase caused a degree of hydrolysis (DH) of YP and WP by-products: 27.6% and 20.9%, respectively. In each of them, mixture of peptides with different molecular masses were also observed. YP hydrolysate showed high levels of antioxidant activity. The scavenging capacity, ferric reducing power, and chelating capacity were observed at the level: 0.44 μmol/L Trolox mg−1, 177.35 μg Fe2+ mg−1, and 549.87 μg Fe2+ mg−1, respectively. YP hydrolysate also exhibited significant ACE-inhibitory activity, in which the level was 59.2 μg. Protein solubility was significantly improved as the DH increased. WP hydrolysate showed high water-holding capacity of 43.2. This study indicated that YP and WP hydrolysates could be used in foods as natural antioxidants and functionality enhancers.

Shigella flexneri 3a Outer Membrane Protein C Epitope Is Recognized by Human Umbilical Cord Sera and Associated with Protective Activity

Shigella flexneri 3a is one of the five major strains of the Shigella genus responsible for dysentery, especially among children, in regions of high poverty and poor sanitation. The outer membrane proteins (OMP) of this bacterium elicit immunological responses and are considered a prime target for vaccine development. When injected into mice they elicit a protective immunological response against a lethal dose of the pathogen. The OMPs from S. flexneri 3a were isolated and resolved by two-dimension-SDS-PAGE. Two 38-kDa spots were of particular interest since in our earlier studies OMPs of such molecular mass were found to interact with umbilical cord sera. These two spots were identified as OmpC by ESI-MS/MS spectrometry. By DNA sequencing, the ompC gene from S. flexneri 3a was identical to ompC from S. flexneri 2a [Gene Bank: 24113600]. A 3D model of OmpC was built and used to predict B-cell type (discontinuous) antigenic epitopes. Six epitopes bearing the highest score were selected and the corresponding peptides were synthesized. Only the peptides representing loop V of OmpC reacted strongly with the umbilical cord serum immunoglobulins. To determine which amino acids are essential for the antigenic activity of the epitope, the loop V was scanned with a series of dodecapeptides. The peptide RYDERY was identified as a minimal sequence for the loop V epitope. Truncation at either the C- or N-terminus rendered this peptide inactive. Apart from C-terminal tyrosine, substitution of each of the remaining five amino acids with glycine, led to a precipitous loss of immunological activity. This peptide may serve as a ligand in affinity chromatography of OmpC-specific antibodies and as a component of a vaccine designed to boost human immune defenses against enterobacterial infections.

Enterotoxin gene content in Staphylococcus aureus from the human intestinal tract

Enterotoxigenic Staphylococcus aureus has been associated with staphylococcal food poisoning, which in a number of patients is accompanied by gastroenteritis. It has also been found to persist asymptomatically in the human intestinal tract, being considered one of the sources of pathogen transmission to manually handled food. However, very little is known about the incidence and enterotoxigenicity of intestinal S. aureus not associated with enteritis. There are practically no data on the frequency of some enterotoxin genes in intestinal S. aureus. Six thousand six hundred and twenty-one fecal swabs from 6-month- to 8-year-old children were analyzed for S. aureus. Growth of S. aureus was found in 347 samples. Two hundred and eight S. aureus isolates (4.2% of 4900 swabs) were from patients with sporadic enteritis and 139 isolates (8% of 1721 swabs) from patients who did not develop diarrhea during hospitalization. The genes encoding 16 members of the enterotoxin family (sea-see, seg-selp, and selu) and tst were present in 174 (83%) S. aureus isolates accompanying enteritis and in 101 (72%) isolates derived from patients with no enteritis symptoms. The genes of the classical enterotoxins (sea-see) and tst were present in 56% and 59% of the enteritis-associated and nonenteritic isolates, respectively.

Subtyping of Listeria monocytogenes isolates by actA gene sequencing, PCR-fingerprinting, and cell-invasion assay.

Analysis of actA gene sequence polymorphism has been shown to be an effective and relatively inexpensive method for subtyping Listeria monocytogenes isolates, allowing the division of the population of this species into two deeply separate lineages. This sequence-based method as well as PCR-mediated fingerprinting were applied here for the differentiation of 49 isolates of food and clinical origin. Correlation between these two typing approaches was high. Both methods divided the isolates into two lineages, designated I (33 isolates) and II (16 isolates). All the 33 lineage I isolates were assigned to the same, or closely related, six clusters by both typing methods. For the lineage II isolates, PCR fingerprinting was found to be more discriminatory. The isolates were characterized by cell invasion assay. All highly invasive isolates were assigned to lineage I, which constituted a heterogeneous group also containing low-invasive isolates. High-invasive isolates were not found in the genetically determined lineage II. A particular actA cluster, designated Ha, contained all the isolates showing the lowest invasiveness. A common trait of the isolates belonging to this cluster was the presence of a threonine-441 of the deduced ActA sequence instead of the alanine-441 present in the remaining isolates. Thirteen human isolates were classified to lineage I and five to lineage II. A PCR-based method can therefore differentiate L. monocytogenes isolates in accordance with the current phylogenetic model of the evolution of this species.

Superantigen types in Staphylococcus aureus isolated from patients with cystic fibrosis.

The screening of 17 SAg genes ofS. aureus isolated from the sputum of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients revealed that among 47 genetically different strains, 39 (83 %) carried SAg genes. Superantigens forming enterotoxin gene cluster were detected in 20 strains. The 2nd most common superantigen type wasselk detected in 13 strains. In 9 strains,selk occurred together with thesea gene. Out of 74 strains recovered from nasal carriers, 56 (75 %) were found to carry SAg genes, 38 carriedegc genes, whileselk was detected in 5 strains. The predominant SAg types in both investigatedS. aureus populations wereegc andselk/sea, butselk gene frequency was significantly higher in the CF-derived strains.

The use of serine protease from Yarrowia lipolytica yeast in the production of biopeptides from denatured egg white proteins

Deriving non-conventional enzymes from cheaper sources than those used for commercially available enzymes may result in the production of hydrolysates with beneficial features, while drastically reducing the cost of hydrolysis. This is especially significant for enzymatic hydrolysis as a method of protein waste utilization. We have previously described the ability of non-commercial serine protease from Yarrowia lipolytica yeast to produce/release bioactive peptides from egg white protein by-products (EP). The enzymatic hydrolysis of EP was carried out for 24 h using the serine protease at an enzyme: substrate ratio of 1:30 (w/w). The obtained hydrolysate was characterized by protein degradation of 38% and also exhibited an antioxidant and cytokine-inducing activity. The isolation procedure (ultrafiltration and RP-HPLC) of bioactive peptides from the EP hydrolysate provided peptide fractions with significant antioxidant and ACE inhibitory activities. Three homogeneous and three heterogeneous peptide fractions were identified using MALDI-TOF/MS and the Mascot Search Results database. The peptides, mainly derived from ovalbumin, were composed of 2-19 amino-acid residues. We have thus demonstrated a novel ability of serine protease from Y. lipolytica to release biopeptides from an EP by-product.

Viability and growth promotion of starter and probiotic bacteria in yogurt supplemented with whey protein hydrolysate during refrigerated storage

The effect of whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) addition on growth of standard yoghurt cultures and Bifidobacterium adolescentis during co-fermentation and its viability during storage at 4ºC in yoghurts has been evaluated. WPH was obtained with the use of serine protease from Y. lipolytica yeast. Stirred probiotic yoghurts were prepared by using whole milk standardized to 16% of dry matter with the addition of either whey protein concentrate, skim milk powder (SMP), WPH-SMP (ratio 1:1), WPH. The hydrolysate increased the yoghurt culture counts at the initial stage of fermentation and significantly inhibited the decrease in population viability throughout the storage at 4ºC in comparison to the control. The post-fermentation acidification was also retarded by the addition of WPH. The hydrolysate did not increase the Bifidobacterium adolescentis counts at the initial stage. However, the WPH significantly improved its viability. After 21 days of storage, in the yogurts supplemented with WPH, the population of these bacteria oscillated around 3.04 log10 CFU/g, while in samples where SMP or whey protein concentrate was used, the bacteria were no longer detected.