Bioactive peptides.

Peptides with biological activities, released during gastrointestinal digestion or food processing, play an important role in metabolic regulation and modulation, suggesting their potential use as nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients for health promotion and disease risk reduction. Many studies have reported that peptides from various food sources possess bioactivities, including antihypertensive, antioxidant, anticancer, antimicrobial, and opioid activities as well as immunomodulatory and cholesterol-lowering effects. More studies are being performed exploring the sources, bioavailabilities, and possible physiological/functional properties and the mechanisms of action of bioactive peptides. Technological approaches in terms of peptide preparation, purification, and characterization have also been investigated.