Biofunctional properties of peptides from plum, wolfberry, and jujube seed protein isolates: potential for health and food applications

Abstract This study compared the biofunctional properties of peptides derived from plum seed protein isolate (PSPI), wolfberry protein isolate (WPI), and jujube seed protein isolate (JPI), focusing on their antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antihypertensive activities. While hydrolysates from all three sources demonstrated substantial biofunctional properties, peptide fractions with molecular weight <3 kDa consistently showed superior in vitro antioxidant activity. Cell viability in human umbilical vein endothelial cells remained comparable across treatments with PSPI, WPI, and JPI peptides, suggesting that all three sources exert a similar cytoprotective effect. Potent antioxidant activities were demonstrated by peptides from WPI and JPI, whereas PSPI peptides exhibited strong hypoglycaemic and antihypertensive activities. These findings suggest that peptides from PSPI, WPI, and JPI hold promise as functional ingredients for food, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical applications, supporting their high-value utilisation in health-promoting products. However, further studies involving comparisons with established standard compounds are needed to validate their functional efficacy.