Advances in the stability challenges of bioactive peptides and improvement strategies

Bioactive peptides are widely used in functional foods due to their remarkable efficacy, selectivity, and low toxicity. However, commercially produced bioactive peptides lack quality stability between batches. Furthermore, the efficacies of bioactive peptides cannot be guaranteed in vivo due to gastrointestinal digestion and rapid plasma, liver, and kidney metabolism. The problem of poor stability has restricted the development of peptides. Bioactive peptide stability assessments use different stability assays, so the results of different studies are not always comparable. This review summarizes the quality stability challenges in the enzymatic hydrolysis production of bioactive peptides and the metabolism stability challenges after oral administration. Future directions on the strategies for improving their stability are provided. It was proposed that we use fingerprinting as a quality control measure using qualitative and quantitative characteristic functional peptide sequences. The chemical modification and encapsulation of bioactive peptides in microcapsules and liposomes are widely used to improve the digestive and metabolic stability of bioactive peptides. Additionally, the establishment of a universal stability test and a unified index would greatly improve uniformity and comparability in research into bioactive peptides. In summary, the reliable evaluation of stability is an essential component of peptide characterization, and these ideas may facilitate further development and utilization of bioactive peptides.