Marine Collagen as a Source of Bioactive Molecules: A Review

Ailen      Aleman; Oscar      Martinez-Alvarez

Abstract

Skins, scales and bones are the major by-products of the fish-processing industry. These by-products are not regarded as ordinary saleable products and are usually discarded causing a heavy environmental impact. However, marine by-products are a good source of collagen that could be extracted and further enzymatically hydrolyzed to liberate interesting bioactive peptides. Collagen-derived peptides may exhibit interesting antioxidant activity, potent antihypertensive activity, antimicrobial activity against different strains of bacteria, protective effect on cartilage, capacity to stimulate bone formation, and also other interesting activities (e.g., satiety, calciotropic, or opioid). The bioactive properties of collagen-derived peptides, and also their resistance to protein digestion, make them potential ingredients of health promoting foods.

Keywords: Bioactive peptides, by-products, collagen, fish, gelatin, hydrolysates, nutraceuticals.