LAUSR

Umami peptides can help reduce the salt content in foods while still maintaining a savory taste. Few studies have reported the bioactivity of umami peptides after consumption. We studied the bioactivities of 12 umami peptides after gastrointestinal digestion. Three umami peptides exhibited Angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory and antioxidant activity after digestion. Six novel peptides were identified from digestion solutions of the peptides using HPLC-MS/MS. Among them, CC, CCNK, and HCHT had both ACE inhibitory activity (IC50 values were 9.81, 9.00 and 114.99 μM respectively) and antioxidant activity (strong DPPH and ABTS free radical scavenging activities). AHSVRF had strong ACE inhibitory activity. These peptides increased the nitric oxide (NO) concentration and decreased the content of endothelin-1 (ET-1) in a medium of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) in a dose-dependent manner. Experiments with damaged HepG2 cells showed that peptides CC, CCNK, and HCHT have antioxidant activity through their cytoprotective effects and by reducing the reactive oxygen species (ROS) content. The results indicated that umami peptides may provide many health benefits after consumption.