HPLC-Q-TOF-MS Identification of Antioxidant and Antihypertensive Peptides Recovered from Cherry (Prunus cerasusL.) Subproducts

The processing of fruits, such as cherries, is characterized by generating a lot of waste material such as fruit stones, skins, etc. To contribute to environmental sustainability, it is necessary to recover these residues. Cherry stones contain seeds with a significant amount of proteins that are underused and undervalued. The aim of this work was to extract cherry seed proteins, to evaluate the presence of bioactive peptides, and to identify them by mass spectrometry. The digestion of cherry seed proteins was optimized, and three different enzymes were employed: Alcalase, Thermolysin, and Flavourzyme. Peptide extracts obtained by the digestion of the cherry seed protein isolate with Alcalase and Thermolysin yielded the highest antioxidant and antihypertensive capacities. Ultrafiltration of hydrolysates allowed obtaining fractions with high antioxidant and antihypertensive capabilities. HPLC-Q-TOF-MS together with bioinformatics tools enabled one to identify peptides in these fractions.