Enzymic Solubilisation of Proteins from Tropical Tuna Using Alcalase and Some Biological Properties of the Hydrolysates

Abstract

Tuna protein hydrolysates have been prepared using Alcalase at several concentrations and characterised both by the hydrolysis degree and by the molecular weight distribution of peptides using size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Preliminary results showed that tuna protein hydrolysates performed effectively as cellular growth factors on fibroblastic cells and as nitrogen sources in microbial growth media. The presence of "secretagogue" molecules (gastrin-like peptides) was also detected.