Jellyfish Venom Yields Potent Blood Pressure-Lowering Peptides | Research

The takeaway

Two novel peptides from jellyfish venom showed potent competitive ACE inhibition with IC50 values of 5.68 and 23.81 µM.

IC50 5.68 µM
The more potent jellyfish venom peptide IGDEPRHQYL shows strong competitive ACE inhibition

What the researchers found

Two jellyfish venom peptides competitively inhibit ACE with IC50 values of 5.68 µM (IGDEPRHQYL) and 23.81 µM (IVGRPLANG), confirmed by molecular dynamics.

Why it matters

Marine organisms are an underexplored source of bioactive peptides — jellyfish venom could yield novel antihypertensive drug leads.

The numbers in context

IVGRPLANG: IC50 23.81 uM, Ki 51.38 uM; IGDEPRHQYL: IC50 5.68 uM, Ki 5.45 uM; both competitive inhibitors.

How the study worked

In vitro ACE inhibition kinetics (Lineweaver-Burk), IC50 determination, and molecular dynamics simulations.

Who was studied

N/A

What this study cannot tell us

In vitro and computational study — oral bioavailability, stability in blood, and in vivo efficacy are unknown.

How to read the evidence

In vitro and computational study — strong biochemical characterization but no animal or human testing.

When this study was published

Published in 2025, continuing the exploration of marine-derived bioactive peptides.

The bigger picture

Marine bioprospecting continues to yield novel drug candidates, with jellyfish venom joining the growing list of ocean-derived pharmaceutical sources.

Questions still open

Could these peptides be developed into oral antihypertensive drugs?
Do they survive gastrointestinal digestion?

Common questions

Can jellyfish venom lower blood pressure?

Peptides from jellyfish venom potently inhibit ACE (the same enzyme targeted by common BP drugs like lisinopril), but human studies are needed.

How do ACE-inhibitory peptides work?

They block the enzyme that converts angiotensin I to angiotensin II, which constricts blood vessels — the same mechanism as prescription ACE inhibitor drugs.

Read the original research

Characterization of Novel ACE-Inhibitory Peptides from Nemopilema nomurai Jellyfish Venom Hydrolysate: In Vitro and In Silico Approaches.

Marine drugs, 23(7)

View on PubMed ↗Publisher’s paper ↗

Citation

Prakash, Ramachandran Loganathan Mohan; Ravi, Deva Asirvatham; Hwang, Du Hyeon; Kang, Changkeun; Kim, Euikyung. (2025). Characterization of Novel ACE-Inhibitory Peptides from Nemopilema nomurai Jellyfish Venom Hydrolysate: In Vitro and In Silico Approaches.. Marine drugs, 23(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/md23070267