Antioxidant Peptides from Hydrolysis of Whey Protein

Abstract

Whey is an important source of nutrients, including soluble proteins, lactose, vitamins, minerals, and fat. Whey proteins have high nutritional quality and biological value and are rich in essential amino acids. These proteins are a source of bioactive peptides that are inactive within the original protein sequence. Bioactive peptides can be released during gastrointestinal digestion, microbial fermentation, and enzymatic hydrolysis, acquiring biological properties such as antihypertensive, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and immunomodulatory effects. Antioxidant peptides are of great interest because they can reduce the damage caused by oxidative stress and associated diseases such as diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cancer, and coronary heart disease. In this chapter, we review recent advances in the use of whey proteins as a source of antioxidant peptides, their mechanisms of action in cells, generation methods, and encapsulation strategies for developing bioactive ingredients for functional foods.