Production, health‐promoting properties and characterization of bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains

Abstract

The search for bioactive components for the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals has received tremendous attention. This is due to the increasing awareness of their therapeutic potentials, such as antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antihypertensive, anti‐cancer properties, etc. Food proteins, well known for their nutritional importance and their roles in growth and development, are also sources of peptide sequences with bioactive properties and physiological implications. Cereal and legume grains are important staples that are processed and consumed in various forms worldwide. However, they have received little attention compared to other foods. This review therefore is geared towards surveying the literature for an appraisal of research conducted on bioactive peptides in cereal and legume grains in order to identify what the knowledge gaps are. Studies on bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains are still quite limited when compared to other food items and most of the research already carried out have been done without identifying the sequence of the bioactive peptides. However, the reports on the antioxidative, anticancer/inflammatory, antihypertensive, antidiabetic properties show there is much prospect of obtaining potent bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains which could be utilized in the development of functional foods and nutraceuticals.

Learning from Tradition: Health-Promoting Potential of Traditional Lactic Acid Fermentation to Drive Innovation in Fermented Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives

“…plantarum fermented barley, protein hydrolysis was first detected at 6 h, followed by a continuous increase in soluble peptide, amino acid, and phenolic content, together with antioxidative properties, whereas acidity and LAB counts peaked at 12 h and then slowly declined [161]. Studies that generated antioxidative, anticancer/inflammatory, antihypertensive, and antidiabetic properties due to the release of BP require a minimum of 10 h of fermentation time and include reports of peak bioactivity after 48-72 h [165,166].…”

Preface

“…This was followed by scores of excellent biochemical studies on all classes of food components: from polyunsaturated fatty acids to polyphenols, from fancy fungal oligosaccharides to the many classes of antioxidants, from plant metabolites to biomimetic peptides, and with inorganic components from one side to the other of the periodic table (pun intended, given that we are discussing food and nutrition). [1][2][3] Several of these foodborne biofactors have been linked to human welfare, also in terms of their impact on the quality and duration of human life. 4 In this frame, the role of food-related biofactors in regulating the microbioma, 5,6 as well as novel mechanistic insights into their therapeutic potential in preventing risk factor related to some widespread diseases (obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases) 3,7,8 may represent additional research hints.…”

“…Decades ago, vitamins were regarded as the prime example of food‐derived contributors to human health, as their “regulatory” function set them aside from components fulfilling the primary scope of o providing energy or biosynthetic building blocks. This was followed by scores of excellent biochemical studies on all classes of food components: from polyunsaturated fatty acids to polyphenols, from fancy fungal oligosaccharides to the many classes of antioxidants, from plant metabolites to biomimetic peptides, and with inorganic components from one side to the other of the periodic table (pun intended, given that we are discussing food and nutrition) 1–3 …”

MrERF039 transcription factor plays an active role in the cold response of Medicago ruthenica as a sugar molecular switch

“…Frost tolerance not only determines the geographic distribution of plants, but also effects their yield, therefore, the cold resistance mechanism of plants in northern China has gained attention. Apart from cereals, legumes are the most significant source of human food and forage worldwide (Aderinola & Duodu, 2022; Graham & Vance, 2003). M. ruthenica is a close relative of the world's most important legume forage grass, Medicago sativa L. (Li et al, 2013), which is widely distributed in Siberia, Mongolia, and northern China (Small & Jomphe, 1989) and is characterised by dry, infertile soils and long cold winters times (Campbell et al, 1997).…”