White Shrimp Protein Hydrolysates: Production and Bioactivity

The search for natural antimicrobial agents drives several researches in the area of food science and technology, because several synthetic antimicrobial agents offer adverse reactions to the organism and present reduced effectiveness against resistant pathogens. In this sense, the protein hydrolysates emerge as an important alternative for the researchers of the area. The protein hydrolysates are natural compounds constituted by peptides of short chain that, when liberated through hydrolysis processes can acquire different bioactive properties. Several protein sources have already been studied, and marine sources are pointed out as promising. Shrimp is responsible for a significant portion of all aquaculture production worldwide and represents an important protein source for obtaining protein hydrolysates with excellent physiological properties, such as antimicrobial activity.