10 Benefits of Plant Peptides

If you’ve heard the buzz about the health and beauty benefits of peptides, you may be in the market for a collagen peptide supplement. Before you buy collagen peptide, though, you should know that there are plant-based alternatives. People looking for vegan collagen peptides will quickly learn there’s really no such thing, as collagen is found in the connective tissue of animals, usually cows.

Luckily, protein peptides are found in many sources other than collagen, particularly in plant-based foods such as soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, peas, rice, oats, wheat, flaxseed, and hemp seed.[i] In fact, emerging science on plant peptides is showing that they can be equally or even more powerful than their animal-derived counterparts.

This article will summarize some of the exciting new research in the groundbreaking field of plant peptides, as well as explore the multitude of ways these next-generation plant protein molecules may support your health.

Protein, Peptides, and Amino Acids

Before we dive into the ten benefits of plant peptides, let’s first discuss what peptides are, and how they’re different from protein and amino acids.

All peptides, whether collagen peptide or plant peptides, are the building blocks of protein. Peptides are, in turn, made of amino acids. Peptides occupy the ideal middle ground between protein and amino acids. They’re more easily digested, absorbed, and used by the body than larger, more complex protein molecules. But they’re also more powerful than individual amino acids.

Want proof of their power? Today, there are over 60 peptide medicines that have been approved by the FDA currently available for sale in the United States. Expect that number to jump up in the not-too-distant future, as there are about 140 more peptide medicines in the clinical trial phase of drug development. Not all peptides are alike though. There are some key differences between animal and plant peptides. You can take a deeper dive into what plant peptides are and why they’re special by reading Plant Peptides 101 .

So, what can plant peptides do for you? Exciting, but still emerging research points to the following ten benefits.

1. Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age

Protecting your brain is crucial as you enter your later years. The plaques and tangles characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease impede your ability to think, remember, and eventually, to function at all.

Just-published animal research found that peptides from an Indian ornamental pea plant (Clitoria ternatea) show promise for treating Alzheimer’s disease, as they were able to protect against the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain.[ii]^,[iii] Peptides from cocoa, soy, rice bran, amaranth, and red seaweed have also been identified as candidates for cognitive support. These plant peptides have been shown in laboratory and animal studies to inhibit key enzymes — such as POP, AChE, and DPP-IV — that are involved in the development of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.[iv]

2. Help You Lose Excess Weight

Maintaining a healthy weight can positively impact your health in numerous ways, including helping to prevent cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Since peptides produced by the body help regulate energy homeostasis (in other words, the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure), researchers were curious to know if dietary peptides could do the same thing. As a result, peptides from food sources have been investigated as a tool for the treatment of obesity and diabetes.[v],[vi] One study, which researched the effects of feeding genetically obese mice with either whey protein isolate, whey peptides, soy protein isolate, or soy peptides, found that soy peptides initiated significantly greater weight reduction than whey protein isolate or whey peptides. [vii]

3. Lower Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and high blood pressure are all risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Plant peptides may help.Cumin seed, rice bran, cowpea, lupin, and black bean peptides are all being studied for their ability to lower cholesterol. [viii]^{,[ix],[x],[xi],[xii],[xiii],[xiv],[xv]}

Preliminary laboratory and animal research suggests soybean and rice peptides have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that could help prevent the development of plaque in the arteries.[xvi]^,[xvii] Meanwhile, legumes,[xviii] dulse, bamboo shoot, navy bean[xix]^,[xx],[xxi], olive seed,[xxii] Momordica charantia seed,[xxiii] soybean, chickpea, and pea peptides inhibit the blood vessel-constricting enzyme ACE (angiotensin-converting enzyme) and may therefore help lower blood pressure.[xxiv]

4. Lower Your Blood Sugar

Chronically high blood sugar in people with uncontrolled diabetes can damage the blood vessels, nerves, eyes, skin, and even the brain. While that’s disturbing, it’s not surprising, since blood travels all over your body, exposing all your organs to the corrosive effects of excess glucose.

Peptides derived from squashes, pumpkins and watermelon seeds are being studied as inhibitors of α-amylase. This enzyme is responsible for breaking down starch in the body. By blocking its action, starches cannot be broken down into simple sugars, which modulates blood sugar levels.[xxv]

Additionally, some plant peptides are structurally similar to insulin receptor binding protein, which helps regulate blood sugar balance. As a result, these plant peptides may help lower blood glucose levels.[xxvi] In one animal study, soy peptides outperformed casein peptides (derived from dairy) in reducing both blood sugar and triglycerides.[xxvii]  

5. Support Exercise Recovery and Joint Health

What do exercise recovery and joint health have in common? Both depend on getting inflammation under control! Inflammation caused by a tough workout can be painful, slow your recovery time, and set your training back. Inflammation caused by arthritis can cause joint pain and stiffness, while inhibiting your mobility.

Many plant peptides have shown promise in mechanistic or clinical studies as potent mediators of inflammation, including Momordica, watermelon, squash, and lentil. By turning the inflammation dial down, these plant peptides may support exercise recovery and joint health.  One study on lentil showed improved aerobic capacity and liver function.[xxviii] Bonus: peptides can also modulate skeletal muscle protein anabolism – meaning they can boost muscle building after resistance exercise.[xxix]^{,[xxx],[xxxi],[xxxii]}

6. Support Your Skin Health

Your skin isn’t just your outer packaging, keeping all your insides nicely bundled. As your largest organ, it also acts as a barrier between your body and the outside world, regulates your body temperature, maintains fluid balance, and manufactures vitamin D.

Peptides from plants and algae are considered a promising area for natural cosmetics.[xxxiii]^,[xxxiv]

That’s because they play a role in three key areas: skin cell proliferation, skin cell migration, and controlling inflammation. Skin cells turn over frequently (about every 28 days in adults), so healthy skin requires a steady supply of new skin cells.[xxxv] Skin cells’ motility, or their ability to travel where they are needed in the body, helps wounds heal.[xxxvi] And inflammation is the culprit behind skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis.[xxxvii] Expect to see lots of cosmetics with plant peptides in the near future!

7. Promote a Healthy Gut

Several digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, are linked to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. (Are you noticing a theme here?) Whereas Crohn’s disease can strike any part of the GI tract, ulcerative colitis is isolated to the colon and rectum.

Plant peptides show promise for gut health by helping reduce inflammation in the GI tract.[xxxviii] In one animal study, plant peptides reduced both inflammatory activity and severity of injury in the mucous layer of the colon.[xxxix] That’s hugely important, because the colonic mucosa protects your intestinal cells from bacteria in your gut, preventing inflammation and infection.[xl] Additionally, peptides from pea protein may prevent the adhesion of disease causing bacteria like H. pylori,[xli] thus preventing the development of ulcers. 

8. Build up Your Resistance to Allergens

When you have an allergic reaction, your immune system mistakenly categorizes something harmless, like a food or pollen, as harmful, and launches a full-blown immune attack against the “invader.” Allergies are not only a waste of your precious immune resources, they can also make you miserable! Unfortunately, food and environmental allergies are on the rise.[xlii]

Peptides can be used to address these overreactions of the immune system. People with food allergies are often treated through exposure to small quantities of the substance in question to help build up resistance. By using a peptide from the offending food, rather than a whole protein, the chance of a dangerous allergic reaction is lessened, while the body is still able to acclimate to the substance.*[xliii]^{,[xliv],[xlv]} Similarly, exposure to peptides from environmental allergens, such as pollen, is also under investigation. In one small human study, a combination of five peptides from olive tree pollen helped lessen the proliferation of immune cells in allergic volunteers by 35%.[xlvi]

9. Protect Your Cells from Oxidative Stress

Like inflammation, oxidative stress underlies many chronic diseases. In fact, the two typically go hand in hand. Antioxidants reduce oxidative stress and in doing so, provide protection from a wide spectrum of health issues, including heart disease, cancer, arthritis, vision loss, and dementia.[xlvii]

Just as plant foods in their whole forms are rich in antioxidants, plant proteins and peptides  from lentil, corn, chickpea, potato, quinoa, mushroom,[xlviii] olive, plum,[xlix]watermelon seed[l] and rapeseed (used to make canola oil) appear to have antioxidant action as well, which suggests they offer a variety of potential health benefits *[li]^,[lii]  

10. Shore Up Your Immune Defenses

A strong immune system defends your body from outside forces, such as infectious diseases and environmental toxins, as well as inside forces, such as the growth of cancer cells.[liii]

Plant peptides, including those from mung bean, licorice,[liv] corn, bean, and canola, may help your body mount an immune defense.[lv] In one animal study, cottonseed peptides helped enhance immune response in mice whose immune systems had been suppressed.[lvi] In vitro research suggests peptides from the mycelium (or root structure) of the mushroom Pleurotus eryngii may also stimulate the immune system.[lvii]

Plant peptides may also be able to downregulate an overactive immune system. Research in rats suggests soy protein isolate, which is assumed to generate soy peptides upon digestion, decreases the incidence of the autoimmune disorder rheumatoid arthritis.[lviii] Rats that were experimentally induced to develop arthritis were less likely to get the disease when they were fed soy protein isolate. When the lab animals did develop arthritis, those pre-treated with soy took longer to develop the disease and had less severe cases. The researchers concluded that soy protein isolate may help prevent and treat rheumatoid arthritis.

An Alternative to Collagen Peptide: Plant-Based Protein Peptide

If you’ve been considering buying a collagen peptide supplement or if you’ve been looking in vain for vegan collagen peptides, learn more about the advantages of plant peptides over collagen peptide by reading Plant Protein v Animal Protein: Rethinking Collagen.

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[ii] Cognitive care using medicinal plant peptides. Medical Press. 2021 Jun 18. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-cognitive-medicinal-peptides.html

[iii] Kalmankar NV, et al. Disulfide-rich cyclic peptides from Clitoria ternatea protect against beta-amyloid toxicity and oxidative stress in transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans. J Med Chem. 2021;64(11):7422-7433. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.1c00033

[iv] Hayes M. Bioactive peptides and their potential use for the prevention of diseases associated with Alzheimer’s disease and mental health disorders: food for thought? Ann Psychiatry Ment Health. 2014;2(3):1017-25. https://www.jscimedcentral.com/Psychiatry/psychiatry-2-1017.pdf

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[viii] Daliri EB, Oh DH, Lee BH. Bioactive Peptides. Foods. 2017;6(5):32. Published 2017 Apr 26. doi:10.3390/foods6050032

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[x] Lapphanichayakool P, Sutheerawattananonda M, Limpeanchob N. Hypocholesterolemic effect of sericin-derived oligopeptides in high-cholesterol fed rats. J Nat Med. 2017;71(1):208-215. doi:10.1007/s11418-016-1050-9

[xi] Lammi C, Zanoni C, Arnoldi A. Three Peptides from Soy Glycinin Modulate Glucose Metabolism in Human Hepatic HepG2 Cells. Int J Mol Sci. 2015;16(11):27362-27370. Published 2015 Nov 16. doi:10.3390/ijms161126029

[xii] Lammi C, Zanoni C, Calabresi L, Arnoldi A. Lupin protein exerts cholesterol-lowering effects targeting PCSK9: From clinical evidences to elucidation of the in vitro molecular mechanism using HepG2 cells. Journal of Functional Foods. 2016;23:230-240. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2016.02.042

[xiii] Marques MR, Soares Freitas RA, Corrêa Carlos AC, Siguemoto ÉS, Fontanari GG, Arêas JA. Peptides from cowpea present antioxidant activity, inhibit cholesterol synthesis and its solubilisation into micelles. Food Chem. 2015;168:288-293. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.07.049  

[xiv] Real Hernandez LM, Gonzalez de Mejia E. Bean peptides have higher in silico binding affinities than ezetimibe for the N-terminal domain of cholesterol receptor Niemann-Pick C1 Like-1. Peptides. 2017;90:83-89. doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2017.02.011

[xv] Duranti M, Lovati MR, Dani V, et al. The alpha’ subunit from soybean 7S globulin lowers plasma lipids and upregulates liver beta-VLDL receptors in rats fed a hypercholesterolemic diet. J Nutr. 2004;134(6):1334-1339. doi:10.1093/jn/134.6.1334

[xvi] Chakrabarti S, Jahandideh F, Wu J. Food-derived bioactive peptides on inflammation and oxidative stress. BioMed Res Int. 2014. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/608979/

[xvii] Sánchez A, Vázquez A. Bioactive peptides: a review. Food Quality and Safety. 2017 Mar;1(1):29-46. https://academic.oup.com/fqs/article/1/1/29/4791729?login=true

[xviii] Rabbi MF. Bioactive peptides from plants a promising area of therapeutics. Honors Thesis. Brac University. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2017 Aug.

[xix] Daliri EB, Oh DH, Lee BH. Bioactive Peptides. Foods. 2017;6(5):32. Published 2017 Apr 26. doi:10.3390/foods6050032

[xx] Fitzgerald C, Aluko RE, Hossain M, Rai DK, Hayes M. Potential of a renin inhibitory peptide from the red seaweed Palmaria palmata as a functional food ingredient following confirmation and characterization of a hypotensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats. J Agric Food Chem. 2014;62(33):8352-8356.

[xxi] Jauhiainen T, Rönnback M, Vapaatalo H, et al. Long-term intervention with Lactobacillus helveticus fermented milk reduces augmentation index in hypertensive subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010;64(4):424-431. doi:10.1038/ejcn.2010.3

[xxii] Sánchez A, Vázquez A. Bioactive peptides: A review. Food Quality and Safety. 2017;1(1):29-46. doi:10.1093/fqs/fyx00

[xxiii] Ozuna C, León-Galván MF. Cucurbitaceae Seed Protein Hydrolysates as a Potential Source of Bioactive Peptides with Functional Properties. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:2121878. doi:10.1155/2017/2121878

[xxiv] Rabbi MF. Bioactive peptides from plants a promising area of therapeutics. Honors Thesis. Brac University. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2017 Aug. http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10361/9391/ID%2013146011_PHR.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

[xxv] Ozuna C, León-Galván MF. Cucurbitaceae Seed Protein Hydrolysates as a Potential Source of Bioactive Peptides with Functional Properties. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:2121878. doi:10.1155/2017/2121878

[xxvi] Sánchez, 2017.

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[xxviii] Martínez R , Kapravelou G , Donaire A , et al. Effects of a combined intervention with a lentil protein hydrolysate and a mixed training protocol on the lipid metabolism and hepatic markers of NAFLD in Zucker rats. Food Funct. 2018;9(2):830-850. doi:10.1039/c7fo01790a

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[xxx] Manninen AH. Protein hydrolysates in sports nutrition. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2009;6:38. Published 2009 Sep 28. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-6-38

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[xxxii] Nwachukwu ID, Aluko RE. A systematic evaluation of various methods for quantifying food protein hydrolysate peptides. Food Chem. 2019;270:25-31. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.07.05

[xxxiii] Fields K, et al. Bioactive peptides: signaling the future. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2009 Mar;8(1):8-13. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19250159/

[xxxiv] Apone F, Barbulova A, Colucci MG. Plant and microalgae derived peptides are advantageously employed as bioactive compounds in cosmetics. Front Plant Sci. 2019;10:756. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6581726/

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[xxxviii] Chakrabarti, 2014.

[xxxix] Mochizuki M, Shigemura H, Hasegawa N. Anti-inflammatory effect of enzymatic hydrolysate of corn gluten in an experimental model of colitis. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2010 Mar;62(3):389-92. https://academic.oup.com/jpp/article/62/3/389/6135772

[xl] Hansson GC. Role of mucus layers in gut infection and inflammation. Curr Opin Microbiol. 2012 Feb; 15(1):57-62. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716454/

[xli] Niehues M, Euler M, Georgi G, Mank M, Stahl B, Hensel A. Peptides from Pisum sativum L. enzymatic protein digest with anti-adhesive activity against Helicobacter pylori: structure-activity and inhibitory activity against BabA, SabA, HpaA and a fibronectin-binding adhesin. Mol Nutr Food Res.

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[xliv] Larché M. Peptide immunotherapy for allergic disease. Allergy. 2007 Mar;62(3):325-31. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17298351/

[xlv] Aravax presents additional positive phase 1 trial results for PVX108, a peptide immunotherapy for peanut allergy. Press release. 2019 Jun 5. https://snacksafely.com/2019/06/aravax-presents-additional-positive-phase-i-trial-results-for-pvx108-a-peptide-immunotherapy-for-peanut-allergy/

[xlvi] Calzada D, et al. Therapeutic potential of peptides from Ole e 1 in olive-pollen allergy. Sci Rep. 2019 Nov 4;9(1):15942. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-52286-3

[xlvii] Antioxidants. Better Health Channel. Victoria State Government Department of Health. Deakin University. 2020 Jun 6. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/antioxidants

[xlviii] Daliri EB, Oh DH, Lee BH. Bioactive Peptides. Foods. 2017;6(5):32. Published 2017 Apr 26. doi:10.3390/foods6050032

[xlix] Sánchez A, Vázquez A. Bioactive peptides: A review. Food Quality and Safety. 2017;1(1):29-46. doi:10.1093/fqs/fyx006

[l] Ozuna C, León-Galván MF. Cucurbitaceae Seed Protein Hydrolysates as a Potential Source of Bioactive Peptides with Functional Properties. Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:2121878. doi:10.1155/2017/2121878

[li] Chakrabarti, 2014.

[lii] Sánchez, 2017.

[liii] How does the immune system work? InformedHealth. 2020 Apr 23. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279364/

[liv] Rabbi MF. Bioactive peptides from plants a promising area of therapeutics. Honors Thesis. Brac University. Dhaka, Bangladesh. 2017 Aug. http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/bitstream/handle/10361/9391/ID%2013146011_PHR.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

[lv] Rabbi, 2017.

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[1] Sun Y, Hu X, Li W. Antioxidant, antitumor and immunostimulatory activities of the polypeptide from Pleurotus eryngii mycelium. Int J Biol Macromol. 2017 Apr;97:323-30. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28093329/

[1] Shahi MM, et al. Protective effect of soy protein on collagen-induced arthritis in rat. Rheumatol Int. 2012;2407-14. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/608979/

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