Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) Seed-Derived Peptides Reduce Blood Pressure by Interacting with the Catalytic Site of the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme

Potential Impact of Bioactive Peptides from Foods in the Treatment of Hypertension

SCOPE

High blood pressure (BP) is the main preventable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Much research is aimed at finding natural alternatives to control or prevent hypertension (HT), since some hypertensive patients do not respond to current pharmacological treatments or show undesirable side effects.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Forty relevant articles have been selected from various scientific literature databases. The results reveal that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition is the most reported mechanism of action of antihypertensive peptides. The active peptides have a great variety of origins. Biopeptides with a molecular weight of <3 kDa, short chain <20 amino acids, and a hydrophobic amino acid sequence at the C- and N-terminus exhibit higher antihypertensive activity. They also show good stability to enzymatic hydrolysis and gastrointestinal digestion, and no toxicity. To determine antihypertensive effectiveness, in vitro and in vivo animal studies are the most frequent developed, with few in silico studies and only one human clinical trial.

CONCLUSION

There is interesting potential for antihypertensive peptides as promising natural candidates for the development of functional foods, nutraceuticals and drugs for preventive or therapeutic treatment of hypertension. The aim of this review is to study the role of food-derived bioactive peptides in HT.

Pathophysiological-Based Nutritional Interventions in Cirrhotic Patients with Sarcopenic Obesity: A State-of-the-Art Narrative Review

In recent decades, following the spread of obesity, metabolic dysfunction has come to represent the leading cause of liver disease. The classical clinical presentation of the cirrhotic patient has, therefore, greatly changed, with a dramatic increase in subjects who appear overweight or obese. Due to an obesogenic lifestyle (lack of physical activity and overall malnutrition, with an excess of caloric intake together with a deficit of proteins and micronutrients), these patients frequently develop a complex clinical condition defined as sarcopenic obesity (SO). The interplay between cirrhosis and SO lies in the sharing of multiple pathogenetic mechanisms, including malnutrition/malabsorption, chronic inflammation, hyperammonemia and insulin resistance. The presence of SO worsens the outcome of cirrhotic patients, affecting overall morbidity and mortality. International nutrition and liver diseases societies strongly agree on recommending the use of food as an integral part of the healing process in the comprehensive management of these patients, including a reduction in caloric intake, protein and micronutrient supplementation and sodium restriction. Based on the pathophysiological paths shared by cirrhosis and SO, this narrative review aims to highlight the nutritional interventions currently advocated by international guidelines, as well as to provide hints on the possible role of micronutrients and nutraceuticals in the treatment of this multifaceted clinical condition.

Effects of Foods of Mesoamerican Origin in Adipose Tissue and Liver-Related Metabolism

Adipose tissue and liver metabolism play a key role in maintaining body homeostasis; therefore, their impairment conduces a pathological state. Nowadays, occidental lifestyle is a common etiological issue among a variety of chronic diseases, while diet is a unique strategy to prevent obesity and liver metabolism impairment and is a powerful player in the treatment of metabolic-related diseases. Mesoamerican foods are rich in bioactive molecules that enhance and improve adipose tissue and liver performance and represent a prophylactic and therapeutic alternative for disorders related to the loss of homeostasis in the metabolism of these two important tissues.

Can Chocolate Be Classified as an Ultra-Processed Food? A Short Review on Processing and Health Aspects to Help Answer This Question

Chocolate is a confectionery product whose consumption has increased, particularly dark chocolate. Chocolate is produced with varying amounts of cocoa liquor (CL), cocoa butter (CB) and cocoa powder (CP). The main chocolate types are dark, milk and white. Processing steps for chocolate production are described, and nutritional compositions examined for benefits and risks to health. Chocolate processing comprises steps at farm level, initial industrial processing for production of CL, CB and CP (common for all chocolate types) and mixing with other ingredients (like milk and sugar differing according to chocolate type) for industrial chocolate processing. All chocolate types present similar processing levels, and none involve chemical processing. Nutritional profiles of chocolate products differ according to composition, e.g., dark chocolate contains more CL, and so a higher antioxidant capacity. Chocolate is an energy-dense food rich in bioactive compounds (polyphenols, alkaloids, amino acids). Studies have demonstrated benefits of moderate consumption in reducing cardiovascular risk and oxidative and inflammatory burden, improving cognitive functions, maintaining diversity in gut microbiota, among others. In our view, chocolate should not be classified as an ultra-processed food because of simple processing steps, limited ingredients, and being an important part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation.

A comprehensive review on the pancreatic lipase inhibitory peptides: A future anti-obesity strategy

Dysregulation of lipid homeostasis contributes to obesity and can directly lead to several critical public health concerns globally. This paper aimed to present a brief review of related properties and the use of pancreatic lipase inhibitors as the future weight loss drug discovery and development procured from a wide range of natural sources. A total of 176 pancreatic lipase inhibitory peptides were identified from recent publications and peptide databases. These peptides were classified into three categories according to their peptide length and further analyzed using bioinformatic approaches to identify their structural activity relationship. Molecular docking analyses were conducted for each amino acid at the terminal position of the peptides to predict the binding affinity between peptide-enzyme protein complexes based on intermolecular contact interactions. Overall, the observations revealed the features of the inhibitory peptides and their inhibitory mechanisms and interactions. These findings strived to benefit scientists whose research may be relevant to anti-obesity drug development and/or discovery thereby support effective translation of preclinical research for humans’ health being.

Stability and bioactivity of peptides in food matrices based on processing conditions

Bioactive peptides (BPs) generated from food proteins can serve therapeutic purposes against degenerative and cardiovascular diseases such as inflammation, diabetes, and cancer. There are numerous reports on the in vitro, animal, and human studies of BPs, but not as much information on the stability and bioactivity of these peptides when incorporated in food matrices. The effects of heat and non-heat processing of the food products, and storage on the bioactivity of the BPs, are also lacking. To this end, we describe the production of BPs in this review, followed by the food processing conditions that affect their storage bioactivity in the food matrices. As this area of research is open for industrial innovation, we conclude that novel analytical methods targeting the interactions of BPs with other components in food matrices would be greatly significant while elucidating their overall bioactivity before, during and after processing.

Current Research on Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Obesity Potential of Food Extracts

The immune-inflammatory, glucose homeostasis, and antioxidant response have a crucial role in the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) [...].

Exploration of the Nutritional and Functional Properties of Underutilized Grains as an Alternative Source for the Research of Food-Derived Bioactive Peptides

The estimated increase in world population will lead to a deterioration in global food security, aggravated in developing countries by hidden hunger resulting from protein deficiency. To reduce or avoid this crisis, a dietary shift towards the consumption of sustainable, nutrient-rich, and calorically efficient food products has been recommended by the FAO and WHO. Plant proteins derived from grains and seeds provide nutritionally balanced diets, improve health status, reduce poverty, enhance food security, and contain several functional compounds. In this review, the current evidence on the nutritional and functional properties of underutilized grains is summarized, focusing on their incorporation into functional foods and the role of their proteins as novel source of bioactive peptides with health benefits.

Characterization of a Novel Aspartic Protease from Rhizomucor miehei Expressed in Aspergillus niger and Its Application in Production of ACE-Inhibitory Peptides

Rhizomucor miehei is an important fungus that produces aspartic proteases suitable for cheese processing. In this study, a novel aspartic protease gene (RmproB) was cloned from R. miehei CAU432 and expressed in Aspergillus niger. The amino acid sequence of RmproB shared the highest identity of 58.2% with the saccharopepsin PEP4 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. High protease activity of 1242.2 U/mL was obtained through high density fermentation in 5 L fermentor. RmproB showed the optimal activity at pH 2.5 and 40 °C, respectively. It was stable within pH 1.5-6.5 and up to 45 °C. RmproB exhibited broad substrate specificity and had K_m values of 3.16, 5.88, 5.43, and 1.56 mg/mL for casein, hemoglobin, myoglobin, and bovine serum albumin, respectively. RmproB also showed remarkable milk-clotting activity of 3894.1 SU/mg and identified the cleavage of Lys21-Ile22, Leu32-Ser33, Lys63-Pro64, Leu79-Ser80, Phe105-Met106, and Asp148-Ser149 bonds in κ-casein. Moreover, duck hemoglobin was hydrolyzed by RmproB to prepare angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides with high ACE-inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ of 0.195 mg/mL). The duck hemoglobin peptides were further produced at kilo-scale with a yield of 62.5%. High-level expression and favorable biochemical characterization of RmproB make it a promising candidate for cheese processing and production of ACE-inhibitory peptides.