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Bioactive Peptides: Isolation, Identification and Application

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1294

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry and Food Chemistry, Faculty of Food Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, 20-704 Lublin, Poland
Interests: food science; food bioactive compounds; antioxidant activity; phenolic compounds; anthocyanins; functional food; food wastes (pomaces); food fortification
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Guest Editor
Interdepartmental Research Unit of Peptide and Protein Chemistry and Biology, Departments of Chemistry and NeuroFarBa, University of Florence, 50121 Firenze, FI, Italy
Interests: peptide and protein organic chemistry; chemical immunology; in vitro diagnostics and peptide biomarkers

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioactive peptides are emerging as next-generation biomolecules with groundbreaking potential in the fields of health, nutrition, cosmetics, and biotechnology. Once considered byproducts of protein degradation, they are now being actively designed thanks to discoveries made possible by artificial intelligence, peptide engineering, and eco-friendly extraction methods. New sources, including plants, marine organisms, insects, and sustainable byproducts, are expanding the structural and functional diversity of peptides.

At the same time, innovative strategies such as chemical modification, cyclization, and peptidomimetics increase stability, bioavailability, and target specificity. These advances are opening new horizons for applications in metabolic regulation, cardiovascular protection, antimicrobial therapies, cancer treatment, and neuromodulation.

This Special Issue will present cutting-edge research on the isolation, identification, characterization, bioactivity, and applications of bioactive peptides, with particular emphasis on innovation and sustainability. Interdisciplinary papers combining basic science with applied research are particularly welcome, as are studies exploring the potential of bioactive peptides in healthcare, functional foods, and biotechnology.

Dr. Monika Karaś
Dr. Urszula Szymanowska
Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Papini
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Molecules 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 2700 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

  • peptides
  • proteins
  • hydrolysis
  • bioavailability
  • application
  • biological activity
  • food technology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

16 pages, 2242 KB  
Review
New Insights into the Anti-Aging Mechanism of Collagen Peptides—Emphasis on Lysosomes and Mitochondria Function
by Wei Huang, Jinshan Ran, Yanli Du and Changwei Cao
Molecules 2026, 31(5), 763; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules31050763 - 25 Feb 2026
Viewed by 1073
Abstract
With the intensification of social aging and the improvement of living standards, delaying aging has become a focus of common concern, especially in regard to skin aging. Although collagen peptides have been widely reported as therapeutic agents in relieving skin aging, the molecular [...] Read more.
With the intensification of social aging and the improvement of living standards, delaying aging has become a focus of common concern, especially in regard to skin aging. Although collagen peptides have been widely reported as therapeutic agents in relieving skin aging, the molecular mechanisms remain inadequately elucidated. This review emphasizes that the alleviation of skin aging by collagen peptides is a systematic and complex process, including the removal of reactive oxygen species, inhibition of inflammation, inhibition of extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and melanin deposition, activation of lysosomal and mitochondrial function, and promotion of ECM synthesis. It also highlights that lysosomes and mitochondria may be the key organelles that regulate collagen peptides to alleviate skin aging. Current research on the mechanism of collagen peptides in alleviating skin aging still requires bold breakthroughs and should not be confined to the transforming growth factor (TGF-β)/Smad, mitogen-activated protein kinase, and nuclear factor kappa-B pathways. In addition, many natural antioxidant components have been proven to alleviate skin aging by regulating organelle function. Therefore, the regulatory effects of collagen peptides with antioxidant activity on mitochondrial and lysosome functions in aging skin need more attention and exploration, which is of great significance for further research on precise skin care and targeted anti-skin aging therapy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bioactive Peptides: Isolation, Identification and Application)
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