Identification of novel antioxidant peptides generated in Spanish dry-cured ham

The objective of this study was to purify and identify antioxidant peptides present in a water soluble extract of Spanish dry-cured ham. The initial extract was loaded into a Sephadex G25 column and fractions showing antioxidant activity were collected, pooled together and subjected to reversed-phase chromatography for further purification. Using a nano-LC–MS/MS analysis, 27 peptides were identified in these fractions. Several key peptides were selected for synthesis and the determination of their antioxidant properties using the DPPH radical-scavenging assay and reducing power analysis. The strongest radical-scavenging activity was observed with peptide SAGNPN which showed 50% antioxidant activity at a concentration of 1.5 mg/ml. On the other hand, the peptide GLAGA showed the higher reducing power with 0.5 units of absorbance at 700 nm at a concentration of 1 mg/ml. Other synthesised sequences showed lower antioxidant activity. The results indicate the potential of Spanish dry-cured ham as a source of antioxidant peptides naturally generated during the dry-curing process.