Food Protein-Derived Antioxidant Peptides: Molecular Mechanism, Stability and Bioavailability

Abstract

The antioxidant activity of protein-derived peptides was one of the first to be revealed among the more than 50 known peptide bioactivities to date. The exploitation value associated with food-derived antioxidant peptides is mainly attributed to their natural properties and effectiveness as food preservatives and in disease prevention, management, and treatment. An increasing number of antioxidant active peptides have been identified from a variety of renewable sources, including terrestrial and aquatic organisms and their processing by-products. This has important implications for alleviating population pressure, avoiding environmental problems, and promoting a sustainable shift in consumption. To identify such opportunities, we conducted a systematic literature review of recent research advances in food-derived antioxidant peptides, with particular reference to their biological effects, mechanisms, digestive stability, and bioaccessibility. In this review, 515 potentially relevant papers were identified from a preliminary search of the academic databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and Scopus. After removing non-thematic articles, articles without full text, and other quality-related factors, 52 review articles and 122 full research papers remained for analysis and reference. The findings highlighted chemical and biological evidence for a wide range of edible species as a source of precursor proteins for antioxidant-active peptides. Food-derived antioxidant peptides reduce the production of reactive oxygen species, besides activating endogenous antioxidant defense systems in cellular and animal models. The intestinal absorption and metabolism of such peptides were elucidated by using cellular models. Protein hydrolysates (peptides) are promising ingredients with enhanced nutritional, functional, and organoleptic properties of foods, not only as a natural alternative to synthetic antioxidants.

Eighteen Novel Bioactive Peptides from Monkfish (Lophius litulon) Swim Bladders: Production, Identification, Antioxidant Activity, and Stability

“…In the study, MSP1, MSP2, MSP7, MSP8, MSP10 and MSP13 belong to tripeptides, tetrapeptides and pentapeptides with MWs of 574.54, 539.49, 417.46, 431.49, 490.47 and 503.54 Da, respectively. Therefore, smaller molecule size is very conducive to the binding of MSP1, MSP2, MSP7, MSP8, MSP10 and MSP13 and targets to play their functions [ 71 , 72 , 73 ].…”

An Egg White-Derived Peptide Enhances Systemic Insulin Sensitivity and Modulates Markers of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Obese, Insulin Resistant Mice

“…On the other hand, this dietary intervention has advantages over daily gavage for chronic studies in terms of reducing stress in the animals, which worsens IR, our main outcome. It is important to note that oxidative stress can also be involved in hepatic steatosis progression to NASH and that several food-derived peptides exert antioxidant activity as recently reviewed [ 51 ]. In future research, it would be worth exploring the antioxidant activity of Peptide 2 as a possible mechanism of preventing disease progression.…”

From In Silico to a Cellular Model: Molecular Docking Approach to Evaluate Antioxidant Bioactive Peptides

“…Once released, antioxidant bioactive peptides show an antioxidant activity higher than the native proteins and can exert their action through various mechanisms. The first one is the classic way of action of antioxidants, in which peptides act as direct scavengers of free radicals [ 5 , 30 ]. These compounds donate a hydrogen atom to a free radical that is harmful for the cell and, in addition to the neutralization of the potentially toxic-free radical, the product of the reaction is a resonance-stabilized radical form of the antioxidant peptide, which is scarcely reactive and may be regenerated to the native form.…”

“…Bioactive peptides are obtained from different food matrices, originating from animal and plant proteins, for example egg, milk, meat, soy, seafood and plants [ 5 ]. The various sources and production mechanisms have been exhaustively examined in recent review articles [ 6 , 7 ].…”

“…Thus, the use of bioactive peptides has gained much interest, but knowledge of their molecular mechanisms is still little explored. In fact, the current research on bioactive peptides is mainly carried out through in vitro tests and there are recent evidences that bioactive peptides can exert their action by modulating specific molecular pathways [ 5 , 23 ]. These compounds are very promising for the fallouts on nutraceuticals and functional foods as well as in drug development [ 6 , 7 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ].…”