## 3 Results and Discussion
### Antioxidant Activity and the THC Content in the Protein Fractions from Fermented Hemp Seeds  
Table 4 shows the antioxidant activity of the non-hydrolysed and hydrolys protein fractions obtained from unfermented and fermented hemp seeds, as well as of protein fractions hydrolys with pepsin. The ethanol-soluble protein fractions showed a greater ABTS:+ radical scavenging ability compared with the water- and salt-soluble protein fractions. In all cases, hydrolysis with pepsin reduced the ABTS:+ radical scavenging ability. A high hydrophobic amino acid content has been associated with low solubility, which leads to low ABTS:+ radical scavenging activity [53]. Figure 2: The antimicrobial effect of 70% ethanol-soluble hemp seed protein fractions obtained after fermentation with (**a**) _L. plantarum_ MR24 on the growth of _E. coli_ and (**b**) _L. acidophilus_ on the growth of _B. subtilis_. A clear zone of inhibition around the ‘well’ indicates inhibition of the growth of food spoilage bacteria. Top: the effect of the non-hydrolysed protein fraction (left) and the control—blank sample (right). Bottom: the effect of two samples of hydrolys protein fractions obtained after fermentation with LAB. The water-soluble protein fractions from the fermented hemp seeds had higher antioxidant activity compared with the unrefmented hemp seeds, while the antioxidant activity of the salt- and ethanol-soluble protein fractions depended on the LAB strain used for fermentation. Fermentation with _L. acidophilus_ increased the ABTS-+ radical scavenging activity of the ethanol-, salt- and water-soluble protein fractions by 17%, 32%, and 98%, respectively, compared with the unrefmented protein fractions. The non-hydrolysed ethanol-soluble protein fraction of hemp seeds fermented with _L. acidophilus_ presented the highest ABTS-+ radical scavenging ability (91.1 mg TE/100 g of protein). [PERSON] et al. [54] hydrolysed hemp seed protein isolates with pepsin and pancreatic and evaluated the antioxidant activity of the obtained hydrolysates using the DPPH free radical scavenging method. The hydrolysed protein fractions had up to 6 times higher antioxidant activity, depending on the molecular weight of the protein fraction. The hemp seed protein hydrolysates exhibited significantly weaker scavenging of DPPH radicals compared with the fractionated peptides. The protein fraction with the lowest molecular weight (<1 kDa) showed the highest antioxidant activity. The antioxidant properties of protein hydrolysates mostly depend on degree of hydrolysis, enzyme specificity, and the nature of the peptides released, including the molecular weight, amino acid composition, and hydrophobicity [55; 56; 57]. The antioxidant activity of most peptides increases with the presence of amino acids such as tyrosine, lysine, histidine, tryptophan, methionine, and proline [58]. Due to ability to reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, phenolic compounds have a positive effect on human health. Indeed, these compounds can bind to free radicals [59]. The ethanol-soluble protein fractions showed a higher TPC compared with water- and salt-soluble fractions. The water-soluble protein fractions extracted from fermented hemp seeds had a higher TPC compared with the unrefmented seeds, while the TPC in the salt- and ethanol-soluble protein fractions depended on the LAB strain used for fermentation; in samples obtained from hemp seeds fermented with _L. acidophilus_, the TPC increased by 65% and 33%, respectively, while the ethanol-soluble protein fraction from hemp seeds fermented with _L. plantarum_ presented a 48% reduction in the TPC.