Bioactive peptides from vegetable food matrices. Research trends and novel biotechnologies for synthesis and recovery

Currently, the interest for health-promoting functional foods, dietary supplements and pharmaceutical preparations containing bioactive peptides deriving from food proteins, is increasing. Despite the large literature concerning peptides derived from animal proteins, only recently the scientific community investigated the possibility to obtain bioactive peptides from vegetable sources, also discovering novel functional features. In this article, the functional effects of vegetable-derived peptides, including antihypertensive, antioxidant, antitumoral, antiproliferative, hypocholesterolemic, antinflammatory activities, are described. The novel biotechnologies for the release of bioactive peptides from vegetable matrices, including microbial fermentation and the use of microbial enzymes are investigated. Moreover, the modern technologies for their recovery, purification, and analysis, are reviewed and discussed.