The objective of this study was to prepare an angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory peptide from the hydrothermal vent mussel, Gigantidas vrijenhoeki. The G. vrijenhoeki protein was hydrolyzed by various hydrolytic enzymes. The peptic hydrolysate exhibited the highest ACE-inhibitory activity and was fractionated into four molecular weight ranges by ultrafiltration. The <1 kDa fraction exhibited the highest ACE inhibitory activity and was found to have 11 peptide sequences. Among the analyzed peptides, KLLWNGKM exhibited stronger ACE inhibitory activity and an IC50 value of 0.007 μM. To investigate the ACE-inhibitory activity of the analyzed peptides, a molecular docking study was performed. KLLWNGKM exhibited the highest binding energy (-1317.01 kcal/mol), which was mainly attributed to the formation of hydrogen bonds with the ACE active pockets, zinc-binding motif, and zinc ion. These results indicate that G. vrijenhoeki-derived peptides can serve as nutritional and pharmacological candidates for controlling blood pressure.
Keywords: Gigantidas vrijenhoeki; angiotensin I-converting enzyme; bioactive peptide; hydrothermal vent mussel; molecular docking.