Changes in peptidomes and Fischer ratios of corn-derived oligopeptides depending on enzyme hydrolysis approaches.

Enzyme hydrolysis of corn gluten meal (CGM) is a promising process to prepare oligopeptides with high Fischer ratios (HFOPs). However, the relationship between Fischer ratios and enzyme hydrolysis approaches remains poorly understood. In this study, peptidomes of varying corn protein hydrolysates (CPHs) before and after activated carbon adsorption were profiled and analyzed according to sequence composition and chain length. Fischer ratios of HFOPs depended on sequences in CPHs by differing enzyme hydrolysis approaches, especially branched-chain amino acid (BCAA)-aromatic amino acid (AAA)-containing-oligopeptides. Activated carbon adsorption increased BCAA-containing-oligopeptide contents and decreased oligopeptide contents including AAAs, preferring BCAA-AAA-containing-oligopeptides with long chain length. Employing a three-enzyme hydrolysis approach, HFOPs were obtained with a yield of 49%, comprising 90% of dipeptides and tripeptides and possessing additional bioactivities. This work revealed the mechanism of HFOP production depending on the release and selective removal of oligopeptides and confirmed CGM was a promising alternative for value-added HFOP production.