Anti-osteoporosis effects and underpinning mechanisms of food-derived bioactive peptides: A review

Osteoporosis is a public health issue resulting in the reduced bone mass and the enhanced fracture susceptibility. Antiresorptive and osteoanabolic drugs provide accessible options for osteoporosis treatment, whereas both of them are accompanied by potential side effects. Hence, seeking for safe and efficient alternative therapies is imminent. Recently, bioactive peptides derived from natural foods have emerged as a promising candidate for preventing osteoporosis and improving bone health, owing to their excellent potential to positively regulate bone metabolism. This review summarizes the latest advances in food-derived peptides with anti-osteoporotic activity, focusing on their screening techniques from various dietary proteins, preventive effects in different types of osteoporosis, and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Bioactive peptides derived from food proteins, particularly short peptides containing ≤10 amino acid residues, have shown the remarkable effects in osteoporosis treatment. Virtual screening technology combined with bioactivity-oriented assays provides a potent strategy for the high-throughput discovery for food-derived anti-osteoporotic peptides. In addition to common animal proteins, plant proteins such as soy, wheat, and microalgae proteins are acknowledged as the attractive sources of bioactive peptides against osteoporosis. These peptides can either directly promote bone formation and inhibit bone resorption, or indirectly modulate bone remodeling by enhancing calcium absorption, improving oxidative stress, and suppressing inflammation. To realize the efficient implementation of food-derived peptides in future anti-osteoporosis therapy, their structure-activity relationships, therapeutic targets relevance, and clinical efficacy need further clarification.