FUNCTIONAL BIOACTIVE

PEPTIDES FROM SELECTED

AQUATIC SOURCES

Niche area
FOOD SECURITY
Prepared by:
Prof. Abdul Salam Babji
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amiza Mat Amin
Assoc Prof. Dr. Alina Abdul Rahim
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Wan Rosli Wan Ishak
Assoc Prof. Dr. Noriham Abdullah
Mr. Ismail Ishak & Dr. Wan Norhana

Bioactive Peptides
Biologically active peptides play an important role in metabolic
regulation and modulation.
These peptides can be used as functional food ingredients or
nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals to improve human health
and prevent diseases.
The importance of fish as a source of novel bioactive
substances is growing significantly (Aneiros and Garateix,
2004; Barrow and Shahidi, 2008).
Based on previous studies, bioactive peptides from fish are
economically useful functional ingredients in food, food
supplements and the pharmaceutical industry.

Aquatic Sources
Fish meat a major protein food
group, with excellent sources of
some valuable nutrients
With red meat being associated with
negative image related to health, fish
based protein become the better
choice.

Background studies

Najafian and Babji (2012) extensively reviewed fish derived

antioxidant and antimicrobial peptides their production,
assessment and applications.

Recent studies by Ghassem et al. (2011), Ghassem et al.

(2012), Mahmoodani et al. (2012) and See et al. (2010), all
searching on the fundamentals of fish-based hydrolyzed
proteins (peptides) have indicated functional properties
associated toward benefits to mankind .

Bioactive peptides involved include:

antihypertensive (ACE inhibitor),
anti-oxidative,
antimicrobial
economic production of collagen and gelatin from fish and
waste from the processing of fish.

Research Expectation
The impact of research on functional
peptides from fish proteins is
expected to benefit the countrys fish
industry by :
1. economic, and environmental benefits
Improving self sufficiency of fish supply :
less dependence on imported oceanic fish
Sustainability of freshwater aquaculture
Conservation of wild species of fish and
preserving biodiversity

Research Benefits
2.Increase the potential production of
health-related functional ingredients and
bioactive enriched food
suitable Halal compliant alternatives in food
ingredients and products from fish, as
alternative choices against haram health
products already available in the functional
food markets such as:
ACE inhibitory peptides of pork which decrease
antihypertensive activity
Pork antioxidative, antistress, antifatigue
hydrolysates
Porcine based prebiotic peptides

Discourage usage of using non-Halal innards

of the livestock industry as fish feed to the

Uses/ Applications of Bioactive

Peptides
The freeze-dried samples can be added to
the spice used for garnishing.
The freezedried samples can be used as
food supplements.
Selective purified peptides can be used as
nutraceutical
Fine grade peptides can be used for
pharmaceutical
Immunostimulant properties of peptides to
fish.

OPPORTUNITIES AND
INNOVATIVE CHALLENGES

Novel peptides from fish

Sensory properties

Innovative? Acceptable? What do modified

peptides taste like?

Toxicity
Are new peptides toxic? Allergen?

Nutrition
Bioavailability and specific target cells for
enhanced absorption

New functional food ingredients

Look into new ways of using by-products from the
fish industry as Halal alternative edible food
ingredients

Research Program Description

1. UKM Research Team will lead
this project with:
Technological processes for
production of bioactive peptides from
freshwater fishes.
Analytical method and Bioassay tests
of specific peptides.
Pilot plant production studies.

Research Program Description

2. UMT Expertise:
Fermentation/hydrolysis process for
production of protein hydrolysate and
bioactive peptides from marinebased sources
Utilization of the marine-based
hydrolysate and bioactive peptides in
food and nutraceutical products

Research Program Description

3. USIM Expertise:
Desirable and unacceptable off-flavours
formation
Products development shelf life studies as
food ingredients and health foods
Chemometrics usage studies on shelf life
and flavours

4. USM (Kubang Kerian)

Expertise:
Food (Fish) processing

Research Program Description

5. UITM (Shah Alam) Expertise:
Comparative antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of
marine bioactive peptides to plants hydrolysates
(extracts)
Toxicological testing of marine bioactive peptides in
vivo and in vitro

6. FRI Expertise:
Basic science on fish and fish products
Fish information, statistics and link with DOF and MOA.
Scale-up processing of fish and fish products.

Research Methodology

Basic generation method for

peptides from food proteins

Typical procedure of isolation of

functional bioactive peptides
from fish meat proteins

Sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar

powder processing

Flowchart of Extraction of Bioactive Peptide (Angiotensin Converting Enzyme

(ACE) Inhibitors) of Sarcoplasmic and Myofibrillar Protein From Fish Meat

Fish skin collagen/gelatin

powder processing
In processing
chamber:

Step 1: Raw material

preparation
Step 2: Cleaning
process
Step 3: Alkaline pretreatment
Step 4: Acidic pretreatment
Step 5: Collagen/
Gelatin
extraction
Step 6: Purification
and freeze
Cold Water In
dried.

Water/
salt/
alkaline/
acidic
solution
in

Temperature
Indicator
(5 C)
Water
(cooling)
medium

Fish skin

Production of Bioactive Peptides

Steam In
2%

enzyme is added
into the mixture.

Hydrolysis

of sample
by constant stirring
(200rpm) at 55 C is
carried out for 2
hours.

Purification

2%
enzyme
in
Temperature
Indicator
(55 C)
pH Indicator
(pH 7)
Water
(heating)
medium

of

bioactive
hydrolysates for
further analysis.

sample

Evidence of Strength of Research

Group
Abdul Salam Babji (Leader): UKM
More than 30 years experiences in process meat products
research. H index 10 (daging@ukm.my)

Amiza Mat Amin: UMT

18 years experiences in food protein research. H index 3 (
ama@umt.edu.my)

Alina Abdul Rahim: USIM

10 years experiences in research. H index 3 (
alinarahim@gmail.com); (alina@usim.edu.my)

Evidence of Strength of Research

Group
Wan Rosli Wan Ishak: USM
10 years experiences in research. H index 3 (
rosliishak@gmail.com)

Noriham Abdullah: UITM

10 years experiences in functional food research. H index 3 (
noriham985@salam.uitm.edu.my)

Ismail Hashim + Dr. Wan Norhana: Fishery Research

Institute
More than 30 years experience in fisheries sciences especially in
environmental and food safety aspects (ismail4852@gmail.com)

R&D Products from Fisheries

2010 (FRI-IPTA)
Research on freshwater fish (patin, keli and
haruan) for identification of bioactive component
have been conducted.
Lead by Prof. Dr. Abd. Salam Babji (UKM).
Yield on identified antihypertensive peptides from fish
protein which can replace captopril for hypertension
treatment.
Hydrolysed collagen
from keli skin

Keli fishball

Keli paste

Collagen drink with

flavors

Haruan fishball

R&D Products from Fisheries

2010 (IPP-IPTA)
Research on production of trypsin enzyme and
hydrolysate have been conducted.
Lead by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Amiza Mat Amin (UMT).
The enzyme was extracted from wastes of (lake haruan
and patin) stomachs part. Hydrolysates also was
produced from the wastes of industrial fish processing
which include stomach and bones.

Fishs stomach for

enzyme processing

Expected Output
This project will be undertaken for 4 years:
No. of Post-Doc.
= 6 (2 from UKM and 1
from each of other universities)
No. of PhD students
= 10 (2 from each
universities)
No. of MSc. students
= 20 (4 from each
universities)
No. of publication
= 32-35
New technologies
= 2-3
New fish-based products= 5-9
New food ingredients
= 5-8

LOCAL AND GLOBAL IMPACT

40 publications in ISI journals
commercializable products and 2
technology-know-how
Licensing and patents

Expected National Impact

REDUCED COST OF PRODUCTION

REDUCED DEPENDENCY ON IMPORTS
HIGH VALUE FUNCTIONAL HALAL
BIOPEPTIDES FROM FRESHWATER

Budget

Selected papers

Ghassem, M., Arihara, K., Babji, A. S., Said, M. & Ibrahim S. (2011).
Purification and identification of ACE inhibitory peptides from Haruan (China
striatus) myofibrillar protein hydrolysate using HPLCESI-TOF MS/MS. Food
Chem. 129: 17701777.

Ghassem, M., Arihara, K. & Babji, A. S. (2012). Isolation, purification and

characterisation of angiotensin I-converting enzymeinhibitory peptides
derived from catfish (Clarias batrachus) muscle protein thermolysin
hydrolysates. International Journal of Food Science and Technology.
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.2012.03122.x.

Mahmoodani, F., Ghassem, M., Babji, A. S., Yusop, S. M. & Khosrokhavar, R.

(2012). ACE inhibitory activity of pangasius catfish (Pangasius sutchi) skin
and bone gelatin hydrolysate. J. Food Sci. Technol. DOI 10.1007/s13197-0120742-8.

Najafian, L. & Babji, A.S. (2012). A review of fish-derived antioxidant and

antimicrobial peptides:Their production, assessment, and applications.
Peptides (33): 178185.

See, S. F., Hong, P. K., Ng, K. L., Wan Aida, W. M. and Babji, A. S.
Physicochemical properties of gelatins extracted from skins of different
freshwater fish species. International Food Research Journal 17: 809-816
(2010).

Ghassem, M., Arihara, K. & Babji, A.S. 2012. Isolation, purification and
characterisation of angiotensin I-converting enzyme-inhibitory peptides

..Thank
You..