Identification of large phosphopeptides from β-casein that characteristically accumulate during ripening of the semi-hard cheese Herrgård

FT-MIR Analysis of Water-Soluble Extracts during the Ripening of Sheep Milk Cheese with Different Phospholipid Content

The purpose of this work was to study the suitability of the water-soluble extracts (WSE) of semi-hard sheep milk cheese for analysis by diffuse reflectance Fourier transform mid-infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR) and the development of classification models using discriminant analysis and based on cheese age or phospholipid content. WSE was extracted from three types of sheep milk cheeses (full-fat, reduced-fat and reduced-fat fortified with lyophilized sweet sheep buttermilk) at various stages of ripening from six to 168 days and lyophilized. The first model used 1854–1381 and 1192–760 cm−1 regions of the first-derivative spectra and successfully differentiated samples of different age, based on changes in the water-soluble products of ripening biochemical events. The second model used the phospholipid absorbance spectral regions (3012–2851, 1854–1611 and 1192–909 cm−1) to successfully discriminate cheeses of markedly different phospholipid content. Cheese WSE was found suitable for FT-MIR analysis. According to the results, a fast and simple method to monitor cheese ripening based on water-soluble substances has been developed. Additionally, the results indicated that a considerable amount of phospholipids migrates to the cheese WSE and that FT-MIR can be a useful tool for their assessment.

Application of the UHPLC-DIA-HRMS Method for Determination of Cheese Peptides

Until now, cheese peptidomics approaches have been criticised for their lower throughput. Namely, analytical gradients that are most commonly used for mass spectrometric detection are usually over 60 or even 120 min. We developed a cheese peptide mapping method using nano ultra-high-performance chromatography data-independent acquisition high-resolution mass spectrometry (nanoUHPLC-DIA-HRMS) with a chromatographic gradient of 40 min. The 40 min gradient did not show any sign of compromise in milk protein coverage compared to 60 and 120 min methods, providing the next step towards achieving higher-throughput analysis. Top 150 most abundant peptides passing selection criteria across all samples were cross-referenced with work from other publications and a good correlation between the results was found. To achieve even faster sample turnaround enhanced DIA methods should be considered for future peptidomics applications.

Production of angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory (ACE-I) peptides during milk fermentation and their role in reducing hypertension

Fermented milk is a potential source of various biologically active peptides with specific health benefits. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory (ACE-I) peptides are one of the most studied bioactive peptides produced during milk fermentation. The presence of these peptides is reported in various fermented milk products such as, yoghurt, cheese, sour milk, etc., which are also available as commercial products. Many of the ACE-I peptides formed during milk fermentation are resistant to gastrointestinal digestion and inhibit angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) in the rennin angiotension system (RAS). There are various factors, which affect the formation ACE-I peptides and their ability to reach the target tissue in active form, which includes type of starters (lactic acid bacteria (LAB), yeast, etc.), substrate composition (casein type, whey protein, etc.), composition of ACE-I peptide, pre and post-fermentation treatments, and its stability during gastrointestinal digestion. The antihypertensive effect of fermented milk products has also been proved by various in vitro and in vivo (animal and human trials) experiments. This paper reviews the literature on fermented milk products as a source of ACE-I peptides and various factors affecting the production and activity of ACE-I peptides.

Comprehensive analysis of proteolysis during 8 months of ripening of high-cooked Old Saare cheese

We applied capillary electrophoresis, liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass-spectrometry (MS/MS), and ultra-performance liquid chromatography to determine the composition of water-insoluble and water-soluble proteinaceous fractions of the cheese and to study in detail the degradation of caseins during 8 mo of ripening of Estonian high-temperature cooked hard cheese Old Saare. The application of high-resolution and high-accuracy MS/MS enabled identification of more than 3,000 small peptides, representing a fairly full casein peptidome containing peptides of 4 to 25 AA in length: 1,049 from β-casein (CN), 944 from α_S1-CN, 813 from α_S2-CN, and 234 from κ-CN. The majority of β-CN- and α_S1-CN-derived peptides originated from the N-terminal parts of the molecule, f6-93 and f1-124, respectively; peptides from α_S2-CN arose predominantly from the C-terminal end f100-162. At the beginning of ripening, we found a relatively high amount of peptides originating from the glycomacropeptide part of κ-CN, whereas peptides from para-κ-CN prevailed during the later stages of ripening of the cheese. The cleavage patterns of β-CN, α_S2-CN, as well as α_S1-CN, showed that primary proteolysis was started mainly by plasmin, although a low proteolytic activity of chymosin was also evident. Based on the analysis of cleavage sites, we observed a significant participation of proteolytic enzymes, including amino- and carboxypeptidases, of both mesophilic and thermophilic starter bacteria in further hydrolysis of oligopeptides during the ripening. Several new phosphopeptides were detected in the result of MS/MS data analysis. The profiles of the estimated concentrations of phosphopeptides revealed that those originating from β-CN and α_S1-CN accumulated during cheese maturation. In contrast, we did not notice any generation of phosphopeptides from the highly phosphorylated part of α_S2-CN, f25-80, presumably due to the inaccessibility of this region to the action of plasmin and chymosin. The analysis of cleavage sites and the combination of principal component and clustering analyses provided a characterization of the complex dynamics of formation and degradation of peptides during cheese maturation. We made an attempt to obtain a comprehensive picture of proteolysis during Old Saare cheese ripening on the basis of the detailed peptidomic data, including also the less abundant peptides determined by MS/MS, and complemented by the data on intact caseins and free AA and reported the results in the paper.

Antihypertensive peptides of animal origin: A review

Many bioactive peptides trigger certain useful antihypertensive activities in the living body system and there is a mounting worldwide interest in the therapeutic potential of these bioactive peptides for exploitation in vivo against the hypertension. Studies suggest the antihypertensive properties for many bioactive peptides of animal origin with underlying mechanisms ranging from inhibition of angiotensin-converting enzyme to additional mechanisms to lower blood pressure such as opioid-like activities and mineral-binding and antithrombotic properties. Antihypertensive peptides are the most extensively studied of all the bioactivities induced by food protein hydrolysates, highlighting their importance in human health and disease prevention and treatment. There exist enormous opportunities for the production of novel peptide-based products in biopharmaceutical manufacturing industries for the treatment, prevention, and mitigation of hypertension. Numerous products have already struck on the global market and many more are in process. This article focuses on antihypertensive peptides identified in the meat, fish, blood, milk, dairy products, and egg and their probable application as novel ingredients in the development of functional food products as dietary treatment of hypertension.

Identification of multifunctional peptides from human milk

Pharmaceutical industries have renewed interest in screening multifunctional bioactive peptides as a marketable product in health care applications. In this context, several animal and plant peptides with potential bioactivity have been reported. Milk proteins and peptides have received much attention as a source of health-enhancing components to be incorporated into nutraceuticals and functional foods. By using this source, 24 peptides have been fractionated and purified from human milk using RP-HPLC. Multifunctional roles including antimicrobial, antioxidant and growth stimulating activity have been evaluated in all 24 fractions. Nevertheless, only four fractions show multiple combined activities among them. Using a proteomic approach, two of these four peptides have been identified as lactoferrin derived peptide and kappa casein short chain peptide. Lactoferrin derived peptide (f8) is arginine-rich and kappa casein derived (f12) peptide is proline-rich. Both peptides (f8 and f12) showed antimicrobial activities against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Fraction 8 (f8) exhibits growth stimulating activity in 3T3 cell line and f12 shows higher free radical scavenging activity in comparison to other fractions. Finally, both peptides were in silico evaluated and some insights into their mechanism of action were provided. Thus, results indicate that these identified peptides have multiple biological activities which are valuable for the quick development of the neonate and may be considered as potential biotechnological products for nutraceutical industry.

Milk versus caseinophosphopeptides added to fruit beverage: resistance and release from simulated gastrointestinal digestion

The influence of simulated gastrointestinal digestion on caseinophosphopeptides (CPPs) formation in milk-based fruit beverage was evaluated, together with resistance of a pool of CPPs added to fruit beverage. In milk-based fruit beverage, four CPPs were identified that can be justified by their presence in raw milk or due to processing. When it was subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion, 10 CPPs were identified, and only 1 presented the cluster (SpSpSpEE) (3 phosphoseryl group followed by 2 glutamic acid residues), which corresponded to alpha(s2)-CN(1-19)4P. CPPs added to fruit beverage are resistant to simulated gastrointestinal digestion, and 16 CPPs were identified originating from the fragmentation of added CPPs, and with a greater presence of the cluster compared with CPPs originating from milk-based fruit beverage. This could justify the use of CPPs as functional ingredients, and offer a good alternative to milk-based fruit beverage for improving mineral bioavailability.