In silico study of myomere muscle proteins extracted from Indian walking catfish reveal Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity – A potential bioactive peptide

Abstract

Clarias magur (Hamilton, 1822), is an endemic Asian freshwater catfish known as the walking catfish is one of the most popular fish in India and Asian subcontinents due to its nutritional value and better taste. The fish has traditionally been used for medicinal purposes. The present study was undertaken to study the proteome profile through Liquid Chromatography based Mass spectroscopy (LC/MS) to elucidate the protein profile the catfish. In the present study muscle protein extract was prepared from C. magur, digested by trypsin for LC/MS analysis for peptide retrieval. Out of a total of 468 peptides retrieved from LCMS data, 23 peptides showed bioactivity for Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) inhibition using bioinformatic approaches. ACE enzyme is expressed on the surface of lung cells and acts as a receptor for SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to gain entry into host cells. ACE inhibitors can have implication in entry of virus into host cells and reduction of hypertension by effectively reducing vasoconstriction. Traditionally synthetic compounds used for ACE inhibition pose side effects. Fish derived ACE inhibitory bioactive peptides can prove to be a natural, less toxic therapeutic sources.