Bioactive peptides from poultry by-product hydrolysate targeting cardiometabolic diseases: production, characterization, and bioavailability.

Abstract

The biotechnological transformation of underutilized resources, through processes like enzymatic hydrolysis, can contribute to the production of value-added products by using biomolecules (enzymes) to modify raw materials. Such value-added products can be, for example, nutraceuticals produced from food processing by-products. This dissertation demonstrated that enzymatic protein hydrolysis of chicken processing by-products can produce bioactive peptides with promising health-promoting effects. Bioanalytical methods were employed to screen, identify, and characterize bioactive peptides in a complex mixture of a crude protein hydrolysate. The bioactivities explored were blood pressure- and blood glucose regulation as well as antioxidant activity. Three bioactive peptides were identified from a mechanically deboned chicken residue (MDCR) hydrolysate. Our findings indicate that MDCR is a promising raw material to produce bioactive peptides. A low molecular weight peptide fraction isolated from the crude hydrolysate demonstrated a dual pharmacological effect (blood pressure- and blood glucose regulation). Dual activity is particularly valuable for management of complex diseases (e.g., diabetes) often requiring multi-drug regimen. Bioavailability of the identified bioactive peptides was evaluated. While the bioactive peptides demonstrated good gastrointestinal stability, their intestinal permeability could not be demonstrated. The dissertation demonstrated a promising potential of chicken by-product hydrolysates as a source of health-promoting bioactive peptides.