Anti-hypertensive dietary supplement

1. An anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate, wherein said fish is of the Salmo spp. or Oncorhynchus spp. type, and wherein the fish protein hydrolysate comprises at least 2 peptides selected from the group consisting of: Leu-Ala-Phe, Leu-Thr-Phe, Ile-Ile-Phe, Val-Phe-Tyr, Ile-Ala-Trp and Val-Leu-Trp.

2. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 , comprising at least 3 of the peptides selected from the group defined in claim 1 .

3. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 , comprising at least 4 of the peptides selected from the group defined in claim 1 .

4. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 , comprising at least 5 of the peptides selected from the group defined in claim 1 .

5. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 , comprising the peptides Leu-Ala-Phe, Ile-Ile-Phe, Val-Phe-Tyr, Val-Leu-Trp and Ile-Ala-Trp.

6. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 , wherein the fish is selected from the group consisting of: atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ), Coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), steelhead salmon ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), pink salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ), and sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ).

7. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 , produced by the hydrolysis of the fish protein with a bacillolysin.

8. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 7 , wherein the bacillolysin catalyzes the hydrolysis of peptide bonds on the C-terminal side of, in descending order with the most preferred amino acid first, arginine, alanine, lysine, phenylalanine and leucine.

9. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 7 , wherein the bacillolysin is produced by fermentation of Bacillus stearothermophilus.

10. The anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 7 , wherein the bacillolysin is Protease S Amano.

11. An anti-hypertensive composition comprising an anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 .

12. The anti-hypertensive composition according to claim 11 , wherein the composition comprises one or more further anti-hypertensive agents.

13. The anti-hypertensive composition according to claim 12 , wherein the further anti-hypertensive agents are selected from the group consisting of alpha 1 -adrenergic antagonists, beta-adrenergic antagonists, combined alpha/beta-adrenergic antagonists, adrenergic neuron blocking agents, CNS-acting anti-hypertensives, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, angiotensin-II receptor antagonists, calcium channel blockers and diuretic agents.

14. A dietary supplement, nutraceutical product, or functional food product comprising an anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 .

15. A method for treating or preventing hypertension in a patient comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 .

16. A method for inhibiting angiotension I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity in a patient comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 .

17. A method for reducing mean blood pressure comprising administering to a patient in need thereof an anti-hypertensive fish protein hydrolysate according to claim 1 .

18. A method of producing an anti-hypertensive dietary supplement comprising hydrolyzing fish protein with a bacillolysin, wherein said fish is of the genus Salmo or Oncorhynchus.

19. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the fish is selected from the group consisting of: atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ), coho Salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ), chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha ), steelhead salmon ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ), pink salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ), and sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ).

20. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the bacillolysin preferentially catalyzes the hydrolysis of peptide bonds on the C-terminal side of, in descending order with the most preferred amino acid first, arginine, alanine, lysine, phenylalanine and leucine.

21. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the bacillolysin is produced by fermentation of Bacillus stearothermophilus.

22. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the bacillolysin is Protease S Amano.

23. The method according to claim 18 , wherein the fish protein is provided in the form of a fish fillet, a fish rack, a whole fish, other fish parts, an extract or purified or partially purified fish proteins.

24. The method according to claim 18 , wherein a fish fillet, a fish rack, a whole fish, or other fish part, is subjected to a grinding step.

25. The method according to claim 24 , in which ground fish obtained from the grinding step is homogenized in water.

26. The method according to claim 18 , comprising the step of denaturing the fish protein using heat prior to hydrolysis with the bacillolysin.

27. The method according to claim 26 , in which the denaturing step is at a temperature of from about 65° C. to about 80° C.

28. The method as claimed in claim 27 , in which the denaturing step is at a temperature of about 70° C.

29. The method according to claim 18 , comprising the step of inactivating the bacillolysin after hydrolysis of the fish protein.

30. The method according to claim 18 , comprising the step of centrifuging the hydrolyzed protein to obtain an aqueous fraction.

31. The method according to claim 30 , further comprising the step of filtering the hydrolyzed protein to obtain an aqueous fraction.

32. The method according to claim 30 , comprising the step of drying the aqueous fraction to obtain a protein hydrolysate.

33. The method according to claim 32 , which method comprises the step of spray drying the aqueous fraction.