Review and perspective on bioactive peptides: A roadmap for research, development, and future opportunities

Bioactive peptides (BPs) possess a broad spectrum of beneficial effects, such as antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-aging functions. Given their rapid developments, it is important to revisit our knowledge of BPs, including their production, bioactivity, bioaccessibility, commercial availability, and the latest work in structural bioinformatics. In this paper, recent advances in BP sources, production and characterization, bioactivities, and commercial availability are briefly reviewed; critical challenges, as well as corresponding perspectives, are highlighted. In silico approaches show a great potential to accelerate BP studies and warrant further research. An integrated and comprehensive workflow for future BP screening and evaluation is proposed. There is a great demand for in vivo experiments to further understand the mechanisms of BPs and promote their commercialization. This perspective paper will be a useful reference for both academic researchers and industry partners to comprehend current developments in BPs and to design future research that connects structural bioinformatics, advanced computation methods, and wet chemistry studies.