Antimicrobial activity of peptides derived from enzymatic hydrolysis of goat milk caseins

In this study, peptide fragments were produced from goat milk casein by proteolytic enzymes trypsin and ficin and combination of both enzymes, and their antimicrobial activity was investigated. After enzymatic treatments, antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was enhanced. The hydrolysates were passed through ultrafiltration. The obtained hydrolysate by ficin (molecular weight (MW) <3 kDa) showed the highest antimicrobial activity and was selected for further purification by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). Twenty-seven peptide fractions were separated, and their antimicrobial activities were evaluated. The results showed that one of the fraction numbers (14) possessed the highest activity against Escherichia coli and Bacillus cereus. The results suggest that bioactive peptides obtained by digestion of goat milk caseins with ficin could be exploited to as natural antimicrobial agents in pharmaceutical industries
Source: Comparative Clinical Pathology - Category: Pathology Source Type: research