This study was designed to demonstrate bioactive peptide production from camel milk casein (CMC) and to assess their antioxidative and antibacterial capacities. CMC was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis employing pepsin (P), trypsin (T) and pepsin-trypsin combination (PT). The resultant peptides formed by peptic, tryptic and peptic+ tryptic hydrolysates of camel milk casein (P-CMC) (T-CMC) (PT-CMC) respectively, were confirmed by the SDS-PAGE and further analyzed for their antioxidant and antibacterial activity against Gram +ve bacterial strains (Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis) and Gram -ve bacterial strains (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis). In contrast to T-CMC and PT-CMC, the EC₅₀ value of P-CMC hydrolysate was found significantly closest to that of standard ascorbic acid. Moreover, the P-CMC hydrolysate revealed substantially higher antimicrobial activity as compared to T-CMC and PT-CMC hydrolysates. On this basis, peptides of the selected P-CMC hydrolysate were purified into fractions (F1-F5) by HPLC for further authentication. All the fractions, except F4, also confirmed its significant antibacterial efficacy against the tested bacteria. Hence, it was concluded that P-CMC hydrolysates and its purified peptides have significant antioxidant potential and may be an effective approach in the production of potent antimicrobial peptides.

Keywords: antibacterial, antioxidant, bioactive peptides, camel milk casein