Vasorelaxing and antihypertensive activities of synthesized peptides derived from computer-aided simulation of pepsin hydrolysis of yam dioscorin

BACKGROUND: We reported that yam dioscorin and its peptic hydrolysates exhibited ACE inhibition and antihypertensive effects on SHRs, however, the active peptides are not really isolated until now. Using ACE inhibitory screenings, two penta-peptides, KTCGY and KRIHF, were selected for ex vivo and in vivo experiments. RESULTS: KTCGY, KRIHF, and captopril were shown to have similar vasodilating effects against phenylephrine (PE)-induced tensions in rat endothelium-dependent thoracic aortic rings, however, KTCGYKTCGY (two-repeated KTCGY) and TCGYTCGY (two-repeated TCGY) were showed endothelium-independent vasodilating effects against PE-induced tensions. KTCGY, KRIHF (10 or 20 mg/kg), and captopril (10 mg/kg) were used to evaluate antihypertensive activity during 24-h after a single oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). The KTCGY and KRIHF showed significantly different and reduced the systolic blood pressure of SHRs compared to the blank. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that KTCGY and KRIHF may contribute important roles in yam dioscorin for regulating blood pressure in vivo. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40529-014-0049-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.