Advances in the application and mechanism of bioactive peptides in the treatment of inflammation

Identification, characterization, and molecular docking of immunomodulatory peptides in Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.)Bge) seed protein hydrolysates

Developing bioactive peptides from natural plant sources into functional foods and immunomodulators is becoming an attractive approach. In this study, the protein hydrolysates (APH) of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.)Bge seed was prepared by alkaline protease digestion method, and components with less than 3KDa were obtained by ultrafiltration (UAPH). The peptide sequence of UAPH was identified by UPLC-MS/MS. silico analysis screened 46 peptides with biological activity. Cell experiments and molecular docking results showed that UAPH can regulate the immune activity of RAW264.7 cells by enhancing cell phagocytic activity and ROS generation, upregulating the expression of TNF -α, IL-6, IL-1β, and TLR4. Peptides DWVSLPG, WVSLPGVP, and FTSIVGNVF are expected to contribute to the immune regulatory activity of UAPH. This study first discovered that the hydrolyzed protein of A. membranaceus seed is a source of immunomodulatory agents, revealing the potential of A. membranaceus seed peptides in developing novel and effective immunomodulatory functional foods.

Casein and Casein-Derived Peptides: Antibacterial Activities and Applications in Health and Food Systems

The growing threat of antimicrobial resistance has intensified the search for alternative strategies to conventional antibiotics and preservatives. Casein-derived antimicrobial peptides (CDAMPs), generated through proteolysis, exhibit potent activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including antibiotic-resistant strains, revealing strong potential as natural preservatives and therapeutic agents in food and medical applications. Furthermore, casein can be an ideal source for peptide production in these sectors due to its abundance, disordered structure, which enhances enzymatic cleavage, and its amino acid profile, which favors bioactivity. Nonetheless, there is limited literature addressing real-life applications in veterinary medicine, food safety, and public health. This review provides a structured synthesis of current knowledge on the antibacterial properties of CDPs. We classify the main types of these peptides, describe their production methods, and summarize their mechanisms of action against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Furthermore, we examine their potential applications in clinical, veterinary, and food-related contexts, and discuss key aspects related to delivery systems, safety, and regulatory considerations. Overall, our findings highlight the potential of CDPs in addressing antimicrobial resistance, reducing antibiotic use in livestock and humans, and contributing to sustainable food safety and functional food production.

Rerouting therapeutic peptides and unlocking their potential against SARS-CoV2

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the potential of peptide-based therapies as an alternative to traditional pharmaceutical treatments for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. Our review explores the role of therapeutic peptides in modulating immune responses, inhibiting viral entry, and disrupting replication. Despite challenges such as stability, bioavailability, and the rapid mutation of the virus, ongoing research and clinical trials show that peptide-based treatments are increasingly becoming integral to future viral outbreak responses. Advancements in computational modelling methods in combination with artificial intelligence will enable mass screening of therapeutic peptides and thereby, comprehending a peptide repurposing strategy similar to the small molecule repurposing. These findings suggest that peptide-based therapies play a critical and promising role in future pandemic preparedness and outbreak management.

Functional Properties and Potential Applications of Wheat Bran Extracts in Food and Cosmetics: A Review of Antioxidant, Enzyme-Inhibitory, and Anti-Aging Benefits

This review examines existing studies on wheat bran extracts (WBEs) to provide an overview of their functional properties, including antioxidant and enzyme-inhibitory activities, highlighting their potential as natural alternatives for applications in both the food and cosmetic industries. Despite variations in extraction techniques, WBEs consistently demonstrated a significant presence of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity. In the food industry, WBEs are valued for their nutritional richness, including dietary fiber, proteins, and bioactive compounds such as arabinoxylans. These compounds improve food texture, stability, and baking properties. Additionally, WBEs have demonstrated antimicrobial potential, enhanced product quality, and serve as natural preservatives. Furthermore, WBEs exhibit significant inhibitory effects against collagenase and elastase, suggesting promising anti-aging potential. In the cosmetics sector, WBEs have gained attention due to their emulsion stability, skin-whitening properties, antimicrobial effects, and antioxidant capacities. They have the potential to enhance the stability of cosmetic emulsions, improve skin hydration, and inhibit enzymes linked to skin aging, positioning WBEs as potentially natural alternatives to synthetic ingredients in skincare and anti-aging products. Our recent pilot study also supports that WBEs enhance antioxidant defenses against oxidative stress in rats, highlighting their potential role in anti-aging interventions. To further elucidate the efficacy and bioavailability of the beneficial bioactive compounds in WBEs for both food and cosmetic applications, more comprehensive in vivo studies are required in the future.

Construction of a preoperative emotional state and postoperative intra-abdominal pressure based prediction model for early enteral feeding intolerance in postoperative patients with gastric cancer

Background

The incidence of enteral feeding intolerance (ENFI) in the early postoperative period is high in patients after gastric cancer resection due to the characteristics of surgical traumatic stress and changes in the physiological structure of the digestive tract, and the current evaluation of ENFI after gastric cancer resection mostly depends on the symptoms and complaints of patients after gastric cancer resection, which is lagging and subjective. Early accurate and objective prediction of the risk of early ENFI after gastric cancer resection is critical to guide clinical enteral nutrition practice.

Materials and methods

This study included 470 patients who underwent radical gastric cancer surgery at the Division of Gastric Surgery of a tertiary hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, between November 2021 and October 2022. The patients were divided into a training set (n = 329) and a validation set (n = 141) in a 7:3 ratio. The predictors were first screened through Lasso regression. Subsequently, multifactorial logistic regression analysis was used to establish a model for predicting patients' early ENFI column charts after gastric cancer resection. Internal and external validation of the model were performed on the training set and validation set data, respectively, including plotting the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and calibration curves to assess the differentiation and calibration of the prediction model. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was also used to assess the fit of the model.

Results

The incidence of early ENFI in postoperative patients with gastric cancer was 44.68% in the training set and 43.97% in the validation set. The final predictors entered into the model were enteral nutrition solution type (OR1 = 1.31/OR2 = 7.23), preoperative enteral nutrition pre-adaptation technique (OR = 0.29), surgical approach (OR = 2.21), preoperative Profile of Mood State-Short Form score (OR = 5.07), and intra-abdominal pressure (OR = 6.79). In the internal validation, the AUC was 0.836, the 95% CI ranged from 0.792 to 0.879, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed χ 2 = 4.368 and P = 0.737, the sensitivity was 0.775, and the specificity was 0.741. In the external validation, the AUC was 0.853, the 95% CI ranged from 0.788 to 0.919, the Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed χ2 = 13.740 and P = 0.089, the sensitivity was 0.785, and the specificity was 0.823.

Conclusions

The Nomogram model of early ENFI in postoperative patients with gastric cancer, constructed on the basis of Lasso-logistic regression, had good predictive efficacy and may serve as a reference for healthcare professionals to identify high-risk patients with early ENFI after gastrectomy.

Bioactive Peptides from Fermented Foods: Production Approaches, Sources, and Potential Health Benefits

Microbial fermentation is a well-known strategy for enhancing the nutraceutical attributes of foods. Among the fermentation outcomes, bioactive peptides (BAPs), short chains of amino acids resulting from proteolytic activity, are emerging as promising components thanks to their bioactivities. Indeed, BAPs offer numerous health benefits, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties. This review focuses on the production of bioactive peptides during the fermentation process, emphasizing how different microbial strains and fermentation conditions influence the quantity and quality of these peptides. Furthermore, it examines the health benefits of BAPs from fermented foods, highlighting their potential in disease prevention and overall health promotion. Additionally, this review addresses the challenges and future directions in this field. This comprehensive overview underscores the promise of fermented foods as sustainable and potent sources of bioactive peptides, with significant implications for developing functional foods and nutraceuticals.