The current study demonstrates that daily consumption of up to 6 g of fish protein hydrolysate (Amizate) was a safe and suitables ource of dietary protein in this sensitive population group of malnourished Indian children. However, additional studies will need to be conducted to compare the nutritional efficacy of Amizate
with an equivalent amount of intact protein or protein hydrolysates from other sources, before they are used as replacements for intact proteins in nutritional supplementation. As mentioned, there are many potential benefits to providing protein hydrolysates as a form of nutritional supplementation. Unlike intact protein
that requires digestion, di- and tri-peptides and free amino acids are directly absorbed into circulation, and protein hydrolysates have been shown to have similar, if not even higher, nutritional values compared to those of their native proteins (Poullain
Additionally, it has been shown that the absorption of individual amino acids from enzymatic protein hydrolysates was faster than that from an equivalent free amino acid mixture (Silk et al., 1979). This is likely due to the lower osmolarity of peptides compared to free amino acids, which also has the added benefit of aiding the absorption of other dietary components. A number of experimental studies in recent years have demonstrated that fish protein hydrolysate contain unique bioactive peptides with a wide variety of biological activities, including immunomodulatory, anti-microbial, anti-thrombotic, anti-hypertensive, and anti-proliferative effects (Picot et al.2010; Chalamaiah et al., 2012). Therefore, further investigation into the utility of fish protein hydrolysate as a form of nutritional supplementation, particularly among children, is warrantedsupplementation, particularly among children, is warranted