The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant, antihypertensive and immunomodulatory characteristics of skim milk fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus LB340. Supernatants obtained from the ferments after centrifugation were subjected to ultrafiltration and yielded four peptidic fractions of 10–5 kDa, 5–3 kDa, 3–1 kDa, and <1·0 kDa. Peptides in 5–3 kDa range exhibited a good antioxidant activity. The peptides (<1·0 k) was applied to Superdex-30 G column fractionation and produced six fractions (F1–6). Fraction F2 presented the highest angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibition activity with IC50 of 67·71±7·62 mg/ml. Moreover, fraction F6, which displayed a good immunomodulatory activity, had a positive effect on murine spleen lymphocyte proliferation with Stimulation Index of 0·729±0·123. The present data showed the potential of the milk fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus LB340 as a functional food, however, further research is needed to evaluate the biofunctional activity of this fermentation product in vivo using model animal.

Red radish (Raphanus L.) pickles are popular appetizers or spices in Asian-style cuisine. However, tons of radish brines are generated as wastes from industrial radish pickle production. In this study, we evaluated the dynamic changes in colour properties, phenolics, anthocyanin profiles, phenolic acid composition, flavonoids, and antioxidant properties in radish brines during lactic acid fermentation. The results showed that five flavonoids detected were four anthocyanins and one kaempferol derivative, including pelargonidin-3-digluoside-5-glucoside derivatives acylated with p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, p-coumaric and manolic acids, or ferulic and malonic acids. Amounts ranged from 15.5–19.3 µg/mL in total monomeric anthocyanins, and kaempferol-3,7-diglycoside (15–30 µg/mL). 4-Hydroxy-benzoic, gentisic, vanillic, syringic, p-coumaric, ferulic, sinapic and salicylic acids were detected in amounts that varied from 70.2–92.2 µg/mL, whereas the total phenolic content was 206–220 µg/mL. The change in colour of the brine was associated with the accumulation of lactic acid and anthocyanins. The ORAC and Fe²⁺ chelation capacity of radish brines generally decreased, whereas the reducing power measured as FRAP values was increased during the fermentation from day 5 to day 14. This study provided information on the phytochemicals and the antioxidative activities of red radish fermentation waste that might lead to further utilization as nutraceuticals or natural colorants.

In this study, two hexapeptides of IPPVPP and VPPIPP were innovated by using two commercial antihypertensive peptides IPP and VPP as two domains cis -linked and trans -linked, respectively. The IPPVPP and VPPIPP were chemically synthesized and evaluated for the antihypertensive activity in vitro/vivo . The in vitro ACE-inhibitory study showed that VPPIPP (34.71±4.38%) has a significantly stronger activity than that of IPPVPP (13.17±0.25%) at a treatment concentration of 10 µmol/L, but it was weaker than the commercial IPP (56.97±2.40%) ( P <0.05). However, VPPIPP, IPPVPP, and IPP lowered the systolic blood pressure by 21±0.9%, 17.4±1.3% and 17.5±0.9%, respectively, in rats at 1.5 mg/kg body weight dosage. The result was consistent with the mRNA level of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ -ATPase Gene ( SERCA 2a ) in rat hearts. Additionally, VPPIPP and IPPVPP showed no negative impact on blood glycometabolism. The results suggested that the two hexapeptides could be potent bioactive peptides in functional foods for people with high blood pressure.