Bioactive peptides from amaranth seeds (Amaranthus cruentus L.) hydrolisis: Structural similarity with hypocholesterolemic peptides.

• Grant number: 07/07762-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2008
• End date: December 31, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Science
• Principal Investigator: José Alfredo Gomes Arêas
• Grantee: Vitor Modesto Rosa
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Saúde Pública (FSP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of death in Brazil and the world. Certain life styles and biological conditions, called risk factors, are easily found in people with cardiovascular diseases. One of the main risk factors is the diet that can contribute to the increase on LDL-C and triacylglycerols (TG) levels and reduction in the HDL-C level. While the diet cholesterol content does not represent a factor for increasing cholesterol plasma levels, considering its metabolism, several other components of the diet may work together to control its synthesis. Some recent studies showed that when amaranth is ingested in significant quantity, it can work as a hypocholesterolemic food with a pronounced effect of protein isolated from amaranth on the reduction of 48% in total cholesterol and 56% of non-HDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic hamsters as compared to a control diet. One hypothesis proposed for its mechanism is that biologically active peptides, released in the gastrointestinal tract by incomplete digestion of proteins from amaranth, can be the agents responsible for such cholesterol level decrease. Hypocholesterolemic peptides have been described in the incomplete digestion of soy. The proposal of this project is to anticipate, through the computer simulation of its hydrolysis, the profile of peptides that are expected experimentally and to model all identified peptides in an on going Master project of our group and to assess its structural similarity to the peptides previously described as hypocholesterolemic. This verification will contribute to the clarification of the mechanism by which the amaranth has so remarkable hypocholesterolemic action and will also contribute to the spread of its use by the population.