Plant Bioactive Peptides (Oilseed, Legume, Cereal, Fruit, and Vegetable)

Abstract

Plant peptides are very interesting potential functional ingredients and a good alternative to animal sources due to their high availability of sources, low costs, and reduced environmental impact. In this way, a lot of effort is devoted to the studies of health beneficial properties of peptides derived from plant proteins which have been increasing and becoming more complex in the last decades. This chapter is focused on the bioactive properties of peptides from three groups of seeds (cereals and pseudo-cereals, legumes, oilseeds) and fruits and vegetables. Main results from in silico, in vitro, in vivo (animal models) studies are presented. The main bioactivities informed in all cases are antihypertensive (mainly inhibition of the angiotensin converting enzyme, and other mechanisms in some cases), antioxidant (free radical scavenging, metal chelation, modulation of antioxidant enzymes and glutathione content, among others), inhibition of enzymes associated with type-2 diabetes development, antitumor (the same sequence have been found in several kinds of seeds). Hypocholesterolemic, antithrombotic, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial and others activities have been also reported for some plant sources. Development of foodstuffs containing bioactive plant protein/peptides, the evaluation of bioavailability and the mechanisms of action, human intervention studies, and approbation of health claims will require a lot of work in the future.