Food-Derived Bioactive Peptides: Correlation between Structure and Functional Properties
A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 September 2025 | Viewed by 2263
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioactive peptides; novel foods; food allergens; food analysis; food chemistry; alternative peptide sources
Interests: real-time PCR; species identification; PCR detection; DNA barcode; food adulteration; food authentication; food allergens; food science technology and engineering; food safety; food chemistry; GMO detection; DNA analysis; bioactive peptides; novel foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: food safety; bioactive compounds; allergenic proteins; food allergens; food chemistry; peptide immunomodulation.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: bioactive peptides; novel foods; food allergens; food analysis; food chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Food is not only a source of nutrients, but also of bioactive compounds that have beneficial effects on human health. Among them, bioactive peptides are protein fragments typically between 2 and 20 amino acid residues in length with a molecular mass of 0.4–2 kDa. Depending on their molecular mass, number and type of amino acids present, net charge, bulkiness, and polarity, several bioactive properties can be attributed to them.
Small peptides can be derived from food processing, produced in the gastrointestinal tract during digestion, or isolated and used as dietary supplements. However, to exert their intended biological effects, they must reach their respective targets. This involves resisting the effects of intestinal brush border enzymes, reaching the bloodstream, and binding to the enzymes, whose activity is to be influenced. To date, peptides with diverse bioactivities have been identified, including antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, hypocholesterolemic, antimicrobial, anti-SARS-CoV-2, antithrombotic, and immunomodulatory bioactivities. Such properties have been identified in a wide range of food sources by in silico, in vitro, and in vivo assays, though the latter are still lacking.
In the era of by-product valorisation of the food industry, the identification of new sources of bioactive peptides can add value to these products and reduce their environmental impact in line with sustainability.
This Special Issue intends to bring momentum to the most outstanding research currently being conducted in this field, thereby stimulating further investigation and dissemination of new findings.
Dr. Carla Sílvia Silva Teixeira
Dr. Isabel Mafra
Dr. Joana Costa
Dr. Caterina Villa
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- bioactive peptides
- peptide novel sources
- bioprospection
- human health
- nutraceutical
- food processing
- gastrointestinal digestion
- bioactivities
- human nutrition
- in silico analysis
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