Marine fish-derived bioactive peptides as potential antihypertensive agents.

Hypertension is the most widespread risk factor for many serious cardiovascular diseases. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) plays a crucial role in cardiovascular physiological regulation by converting angiotensin I to a potent vasoconstrictor, angiotensin II. Hence, the inhibition of ACE is a key target for antihypertensive activity. Recently, potent antihypertensive peptides have been purified widely by enzymatic hydrolysis of muscle protein, skin collagen, and gelatin of many different kinds of marine fishes. Marine fish-derived bioactive peptides can be developed as antihypertensive components in functional foods or nutraceuticals. This contribution presents an overview of the ACE inhibitory peptides derived from marine fishes and discusses their future prospects to be used as potential drug candidates for preventing and treating high blood pressure.