Screening of Bioactive Peptides and γ-aminobutyric Acid as Functional Ingredients in Some Commercial Ripened Cheese

The consumption of cheese is increasing due to its nutritional value and its potential to reduce the incidence of various human diseases. This study highlights the generation of peptides with multi-beneficial effects and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in nine classes of ripened cheese prevalent in the Egyptian market. Parmesan, Cheddar, Emmental, Ras, Gouda, Edam, Kashkaval, Roquefort, and Camembert cheeses were examined for gross composition, proteolytic, ACE-I, antioxidant, and anticancer activity, as well as GABA content. As expected, the chemical composition of tested ripened cheese varied according to milk type, manufacturing procedures, maturation time, and temperature. Compared to other ripened cheese types, Parmesan and Emmental cheeses recorded higher values for proteolysis, while Ras cheese showed a lower value. Our findings revealed that the peptide extracts of all ripened cheese types exhibited the ability to inhibit ACE, scavenge DPPH free radicals, and chelate metal ions with various efficiencies. Gouda, Kashkaval, and Parmesan cheese showed the highest values of ACE-I, and antioxidant activity. All studied cheese types had moderate to low relative toxicity against the Caco2 cell line, except for Gouda, Cheddar, and Ras cheeses. All tested cheese types contained GABA, ranging from 77.56 mg/kg (Kashkaval cheese) to 6698.94 mg/kg (Cheddar cheese).