ACE-Inhibitory Properties of Proteolytic Hydrolysates from Giant Jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai

This study aimed to determine the degree of hydrolysis and angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activity of Giant Jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai (jellyfish) hydrolysates. The degree of hydrolysis using six proteolytic enzymes (Alcalase, Flavozyme, Neutrase, papain, Protamex, and trypsin) ranged from 13.1-36.8% and the inhibitory activities from 20.46-79.58%. Using papain hydrolysate, we newly isolated and characterized ACE-inhibitory peptides with a molecular weight of 3,000-5,000 Da that originated from jellyfish collagen. The purified peptide (FII-b) was predicted to be produced from an alpha-2 fragment of the type IV collagen of jellyfish. The N-terminal sequence of FII-b was Asp-Pro-Gly-Leu-Glu-Gly-Ala-His-Gly- and showed 87% identity to the collagen type IV alpha-2 fragment of Rattus norvegicus and a predicted protein from Nematostella vectensis, indicating that the ACE-inhibitory peptide originated from the collagen hydrolysate and had an $IC_{50}$ value of 3.8 ${\mu}g$/mL. The primary structure of the fragment is now being studied; this peptide represents an interesting new type of ACE inhibitor and will provide knowledge of the potential applications of jellyfish components as therapies for hypertension.