Abstract:
The search for bioactive components for the development of functional foods
and nutraceuticals has received tremendous attention. This is due to the
increasing awareness of their therapeutic potentials, such as antioxidant, antiinflammatory,
antihypertensive, anti-cancer properties, etc. Food proteins, well
known for their nutritional importance and their roles in growth and development,
are also sources of peptide sequences with bioactive properties and physiological
implications. Cereal and legume grains are important staples that are
processed and consumed in various forms worldwide. However, they have
received little attention compared to other foods. This review therefore is
geared towards surveying the literature for an appraisal of research conducted
on bioactive peptides in cereal and legume grains in order to identify what the
knowledge gaps are. Studies on bioactive peptides from cereal and legume
grains are still quite limited when compared to other food items and most of
the research already carried out have been done without identifying the
sequence of the bioactive peptides. However, the reports on the antioxidative,
anticancer/inflammatory, antihypertensive, antidiabetic properties show there
is much prospect of obtaining potent bioactive peptides from cereal and legume grains which could be utilized in the development of functional foods
and nutraceuticals.
