Milk’s Bioactive Peptides: Are We Disregarding Nature’s Miracle?

Abstract

Milk has a great nutritional value duo to its amino acid composition and its fat content. However, what makes milk an excellent product for human consumption it’s the presence of bioactive sequences among their aminoacidic profile. Bioactive peptides derived from milk proteins are well known to retain many biological properties and have therapeutic effects in several health disorders. The main source of these compounds are the peptides formed after protein degradation which can occur during gastrointestinal digestion, food processing or fermentation via enzyme or bacterial activity. In a post-pandemic context, where environmentally and health-safe medications and antimicrobials are constantly pursued, milk-derived peptides could be of significant importance for health, as well as for the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and dairy industry.