Effect of Bioactive Peptides on Human Health

Dear Colleagues,

Food proteins, apart from their basic nutritional role, are capable of modulating specific physiological functions. Some of these biological activities (antihypertensive, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, and lipid-lowering activities) are mediated by specific peptides encrypted within the primary sequence that can be released through in vitro or in vivo processes. These protein fragments, named bioactive peptides, have shown promise for the management of complex human health conditions due to their potential pleiotropic effects. The use of dietary bioactive peptides in interventions against human diseases offers many advantages, including safety, low health cost, and the additional nutritional benefits of the peptides as source of beneficial and essential aminoacids. Recently, many of the known bioactive peptides have been also reported as multifunctional and can exert more than one of the effects mentioned. Following digestion, bioactive peptides can either be absorbed through the intestine to enter the blood circulation intact and exert systemic effects, or produce local effects in the gastrointestinal tract. After the small intestine, the non-digested and/or non-absorbed food peptides enter the large intestine or colon, where they could be also metabolised by the intestinal microbiota.

The formation of bioactive peptides has been extensively studied, but most studies have claimed that the physiological effects of bioactive peptides have been observed in vitro, and few of them have so far proven effective in animal and humans studies. Moreover, studies that seek to find out the mechanisms behind this phenomenon are limited or non-existent. Therefore, further research is needed in order to clarify the relevance and potential therapeutic role of bioactive peptides in human health.

This Special Issue of Nutrients, entitled “Effect of Bioactive Peptides on Human Health”, welcomes the submission of manuscripts either describing original research or reviewing the scientific literature, focusing on animal and human studies.

Dr. Marta Miguel
Guest Editor

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