Peptides from fish and crustacean by-products hydrolysates stimulate cholecystokinin release in STC-1 cells

Fish protein hydrolysates (FPH) are of significant interest, due to their potential application as a source of bioactive peptides in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical domains. Here, we investigated the action of FPH from blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) and brown shrimp (Penaeus aztecus) on cholecystokinin release from intestinal endocrine cells (STC-1). We demonstrated for the first time that FPH were able to highly stimulate CCK-releasing activity from STC-1 cells and that this stimulation was mainly due to peptide molecules. The partial purification of CCK-stimulating peptides showed that their apparent molecular weight ranged between 1000 and 1500 Da for fish and crustacean FPH, respectively. Finally, in an aim to industrially produce hydrolysates enriched in CCK-stimulating molecules, we tested the effects of membrane processes (ultrafiltration and nanofiltration) on active peptide enrichments.