Peptides with biological and technofunctional properties produced by bromelain hydrolysis of proteins from different sources: A review

Bromelains are cysteine peptidases with endopeptidase action (a subfamily of papains), obtained from different parts of vegetable belonging to the Bromeliaceae family. They have some intrinsic medical activity, but this review is focused on their application (individually or mixed with other proteases) to produce bioactive peptides. When compared to other proteases, perhaps due to the fact that they are commercialized as an extract containing several proteases, the hydrolysates produced by this enzyme tends to have higher bioactivities than other common proteases. The peptides and the intensity of their final properties depend on the substrate protein and reaction conditions, being the degree of hydrolysis a determining parameter (but not always positive or negative). The produced peptides may have diverse activities such as antioxidant, antitumoral, antihypertensive or antimicrobial ones, among others or they may be utilized to improve the organoleptic properties of foods and feeds. Evolution of the use of this enzyme in this application is proposed to be based on a more intense direct application of Bromeliaceae extract, without the cost associated to enzyme purification, and the use of immobilized biocatalysts of the enzyme by simplifying the enzyme recovery and reuse, and also making the sequential hydrolysis using diverse proteases possible.

Nano Delivery Chitosan-Protein/Hydrolysate of Green Peas Bromelain (PHGPB) Synthesized by Colloidal-Spray Drying Method

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) suffer persistent decreased kidney function. Previous study of protein hydrolysate of green pea (Pisum sativum) bromelain (PHGPB) has shown promising results as an antifibrotic in glucose-induced renal mesangial culture cells, by decreasing their TGF-β levels. To be effective, protein derived from PHGPB must provide adequate protein intake and reach the target organs. This paper presents a drug delivery system for the formulation of PHGPB using chitosan as polymeric nanoparticles. A PHGPB nano delivery system was synthesized by precipitation with fixed chitosan 0.1 wt.%, followed by a spray drying process at different aerosol flow rates of 1, 3, and 5 L/min. FTIR results showed that the PHGPB was entrapped in the chitosan polymer particles. Homogeneous size and spherical morphology of NDs were obtained for the chitosan-PHGPB with a flow rate of 1 L/min. Our in vivo study showed that the highest entrapment efficiency, solubility, and sustained release were achieved by the delivery system method at 1 L/min. It was concluded that the chitosan-PHGPB delivery system developed in this study improves pharmacokinetics compared to pure PHGPB.