Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides were isolated and identified from milk fermented using Lactobacillus delbrueckii QS306. The peptide with the highest angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activity (C5) was purified using ultrafiltration with 10 and 3 kDa molecular mass cut-off membranes, Sephadex G-15 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) gel filtration chromatography, reversed-phase HPLC, and Orbitrap Elite (Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, MA) liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We obtained peptide LPYPY by microbial fermentation, which was derived from κ-casein f (AA 77-81). We synthesized LPYPY using an Fmoc solid-phase synthesis method and explored the secondary structure of the pentapeptide. The half maximal inhibitory concentration for the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activity of LPYPY was 12.87 μg/mL. The results provide additional information for ongoing research and the development of functional foods having antihypertensive effects.

An angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory (ACEI) peptide with a median inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) of 1.26 mg/mL was purified from whey proteins resulting from a fermentation using Lactobacillus plantarum QS670. The peptide was subsequently derived from an α S1 -casein, κ-casein, β-lactoglobulin, or serum albumin fraction. Analysis via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry indicated that it had an amino acid sequence of Gly-Ala (GA). The GA dipeptide was also synthesized using an Fmoc solid-phase method. The GA dipeptide exhibited an IC 50 of 1.22 mg/mL and was shown to be stable across both temperature (20 to 60°C) and pH (2 to 12). Digestive enzymes including pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin had negligible effects on activity. The whey exerted hypotensive effects when fed to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), which exhibited a blood pressure drop of 2.33 kPa. A 4-wk gavage treatment resulted in greater decreases of 7.46 kPa. Results of this study indicate that milk fermented using Lb. plantarum QS306 has potential to be used as a functional food to help prevent or reduce hypertension-associated diseases.