Isolation and Antihypertensive Effect of Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibitory Peptides from Spinach Rubisco

Four new inhibitory peptides for angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE), that is, MRWRD, MRW, LRIPVA, and IAYKPAG, were isolated from the pepsin−pancreatin digest of spinach Rubisco with the use of HPLC. IC50 values of individual peptides were 2.1, 0.6, 0.38, and 4.2 μM, respectively. MRW and MRWRD had an antihypertensive effect after oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats. Maximal reduction occurred 2 h after oral administration of MRW, whereas MRWRD showed maximal decrease 4 h after oral administration at doses of 20 and 30 mg/kg, respectively. IAYKPAG also exerted antihypertensive activity after oral administration at the dose of 100 mg/kg, giving a maximum decrease 4 h after oral administration. IAYKP, IAY, and KP, the fragment peptides of IAYKPAG, also exerted antihypertensive activity. LRPVIA did not show any antihypertensive effect at a dose of 100 mg/kg despite its potent ACE-inhibitory activity. Keywords: Rubisco; spinach; ACE-inhibitory peptides; antihypertensive effect; spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)