Proteins and bioactive peptides from algae: Insights into antioxidant, anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic and anti-cancer activities

Algae present promising sources of nutritional proteins, encompassing lectins, phycobiliproteins, mycosporine-like amino acids, derived hydrolysates, and bioactive peptides. These algal proteins and their derived biomolecules have gained widespread attention for potential applications in industries such as nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and functional foods. This work aims to explore the potential health-promoting aspects of algal-derived proteins and bioactive peptides, emphasizing their anti-hypertensive, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer, and antioxidant bioactivities. The focus extends to their natural occurrence, characteristics, structure-function relationships, and potential mechanisms of action. Additionally, the challenges related to consumer acceptance of algae-derived functional foods and the utilization of in-silico technologies for their advancement are addressed. Algae-derived proteins and bioactive peptides showcase a broad spectrum of bioactivities and therapeutic properties, with notable health benefits in alleviating and treating oxidative stress, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Extensive literature highlights that protein-based biomolecules from Chlorella sp., Arthrospira platensis, and red macroalgae exhibit the most potent biological activities. Numerous studies confirm that peptides with low molecular weight and containing aromatic and/or hydrophobic amino acids contribute significantly to the diverse bioactivities of algae proteins.