[Biologically active peptides derived from food proteins as the food components with cardioprotective properties].

Food proteins are the source of peptides with many biological activities. One of them is their impact on blood circulatory system. This group of peptides includes the ones with the ability to reduce the blood pressure (inhibitors of angiotensin converting enzyme--ACE), antithrombotic, and to lower the cholesterol level. Among the above-mentioned peptides' bioactivities, the most of them act as the ACE inhibitors. Some of them are the functional food components and nutraceuticals and possess the status of food with special use. The main known source of antithrombotic and cholesterol lowering peptides are milk and soy proteins, respectively. However, the scientists make the efforts to find new alternative sources of peptides with the above-mentioned activities. It should be noted, that although the bioactive peptides are considered as the safe food components and thus be supportive in the cardiovascular diseases therapy, they cannot substitute the drugs. This review shows the characteristics of selected peptides with: blood pressure reducing, antithrombotic, and cholesterol level reducing activities. We focused on the sequences that were identified in food proteins as well as were tested on humans or animals.