Bioactivities, preparation, and bioavailability of food-derived proline-containing peptides

Background

Due to the unique structure of proline (Pro), Pro-containing peptides (PCPs) are endowed with specific conformational and physiological properties. There has been an increasing interest in the health-promoting effects of PCPs from dietary proteins. However, a comprehensive overview of the bioactivities, preparation, and bioavailability of food-derived PCPs is lacking.

Scope and approach

This article provides a comprehensive discussion of recent advances in food sources, available production methods, structure-activity relationships underlying the bioactivities, and bioavailability of food-derived PCPs. Future research directions are also discussed in optimizing PCPs as health-beneficial functional food ingredients.

Key findings and conclusions

Food-derived PCPs exhibit diverse bioactivities highlighting their potential human health benefits, including ACE inhibition, antioxidant effects, DPP-Ⅳ inhibition, and opioid-like effects. The role of Pro, protein source preferences, and production methods for each bioactivity are distinct. Pro-specific peptidases from the gastrointestinal tract, intestinal epithelial cells, and blood are responsible for the degradation of PCPs in vivo. Further investigation is needed to develop PCPs-specific production methods, improve the bioavailability of PCPs, and validate their bioactivity in clinical trials.