21In this work, we aimed at the production of bovine sodium caseinate (NaCAS) hydrolysates 22 by means of an extracellular protease from Bacillus sp. P7. Mass spectrometry was carried 23 out to evaluate peptide mass distribution and identified sequences of peptides with a 24 signal/noise ratio higher than 10. Antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of hydrolysates 25 were evaluated. An acid-induced aggregation process of the hydrolysates and their 26 corresponding mixtures with NaCAS were also analyzed. The results showed that the 27 enzymatic hydrolysis produced peptides, mostly lower than 3 kDa, with different 28 bioactivities depending on the time of hydrolysis (ti). These hydrolysates lost their ability to 29 aggregate by addition of glucono--lactone, and their incorporation into NaCAS solutions 30 alter the kinetics of the process. Also, the degree of compactness of the NaCAS aggregates, 31 estimated by the fractal dimension of aggregates, was not significantly altered by the 32 incorporation of hydrolysates. However, at higher protein concentrations, when the 33 decrease in pH leads to the formation of NaCAS acid gels, the presence of hydrolysates 34 alters the microstructure and rheological behavior of these gels. 35 36