Bioactive peptides from milk proteins with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive activities

Peptides from protein ingredients exhibit key biological activities, including antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and immunomodulatory effects. Aligning with the One Health approach, there is growing investment in promoting pet health and well-being. As a result, sustainable functional ingredients are increasingly essential for pet food development. In this work, peptides derived from lactoferrins of different mammalian species were synthesized and their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive activities were investigated. This study examined the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antihypertensive activities, and cytotoxicity of bioactive peptides derived from lactoferrins of various mammalian species through spectroscopical methods. The peptides were produced via chemical synthesis (bottom-up approach). Peptides derived from bovine lactoferrin showed the most promising antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, whereas those derived from human lactoferrin showed the highest antihypertensive effects and the lowest cytotoxicity. In short, milk-derived peptides with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive activity were identified. This motivates further studies to better characterize these peptides, including their properties and pharmacokinetics in vivo, to assess their true potential as nutraceutical agents.

Keywords

Bioactive peptides Milk proteins Antioxidant Anti-inflammatory Antihypertensive

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.22/29936

Citation

Borges, T., Coelho, P., Prudêncio, C., Gomes, A., Gomes, P., & Ferraz, R. (2025). Bioactive peptides from milk proteins with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive activities. Foods, 14(3), Artigo 3. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14030535