Food-derived bioactive peptides as momentous food components: Can functional peptides passed through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and NF-κB pathway to repair and protect the skeletal muscle injury?

Muscle injury is defined as an overuse injury or traumatic distraction of a muscle, which is latent in any sport event, from amateur to large events. Based on previous numbers of muscle injuries and time spent to the athletes' recovery, the use of dietary functional factors intervention strategies is essential to enhance the recovery process and health. In recent years, there has been increasing evidence that biologically active peptides played an important role in sports nutrition and muscle injure recovery. Food-derived bioactive peptides were physiologically active peptides mostly derived from proteins following hydrolysis, which could be resorbed in intact form to reduce muscle damage following exercise and induce beneficial adaptions within the connective tissue. However, the complexity of the histoarchitectural considerations for skeletal muscle injuries and the repair mechanism of damaged skeletal muscle were not well known. In the following overview, the potential mechanisms and possible limitations regarding the damaged skeletal muscle metabolism were summarized, which aimed to present an overview of the nutritional strategies and recommendations after a muscular sports injury, emphasizing the use of main bioactive peptides. In addition, this review will provide implications for the studies of dietary bioactive peptides in the future.