Production of enzymatic hydrolysates with in vitro antioxidant, antihypertensive, and antidiabetic properties from proteins derived from Arthrospira platensis

The microalga Arthrospira platensis BEA 005B was produced using 80 m² (9 m³) raceway photobioreactors achieving a biomass productivity of 28.2 g·m⁻²·day⁻¹when operating the reactors in semi-continuous mode (0.33 day⁻¹). The produced biomass was rich in proteins (58.1 g·100 g⁻¹) and carbohydrates (25.6 g·100 g⁻¹); the content of phycocyanins and allophycocyanins was 115.4 and 36.9 mg·g⁻¹, respectively. Ultrasounds and high-pressure homogenisation allowed recovering approximately 90% of the initial protein content of the biomass; however, the energetic requirements of the former (∼100 kJ·kg⁻¹) were significantly lower than those of high-pressure homogenisation (∼200 kJ·kg⁻¹). An in silico analysis revealed that papain and ficin would allow releasing a large number of bioactive peptides with antioxidant, antihypertensive (ACE-I and renin), and antidiabetic (DPP-IV, α-amylase, and α-glucosidase) properties. Both were assessed in vitrotogether with Alcalase and pepsin leading to the generation of enzymatic hydrolysates with in vitro bioactivity.