AbstractBACKGROUNDAngiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory peptides were found to alleviate acute hepatitis significantly. In this study, we purified and identified ACE inhibitory peptide from cashew to evaluate its protective role on alcohol‐induced acute hepatitis in mice.RESULTSThe ACE inhibitory peptides were purified by using consecutive chromatographic techniques. One of these peptides (FETISFK) exhibited the highest ACE inhibition rate (91.04 ± 0.31%). In vivo, the results showed that ACE inhibitory peptide decreased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) caused by alcohol exposure. Moreover, it could increase the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH), and decrease the level of malondialdehyde (MDA). It was also found to down‐regulate markedly the expression of interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α). It could also decrease the expression of ACE, angiotensin II (AngII) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R).CONCLUSIONThese findings support the view that the ACE inhibitory peptide alleviated acute hepatitis by down‐regulating the ACE–AngII–AT1R axis, broadening the research approach to prevent acute hepatitis, and providing experimental data for the development and utilization of cashews. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry