Antioxidant Plant Peptides – The Peacekeepers in Our Fight Against Chronic Diseases

Think of antioxidants as peace negotiators. Antioxidants donate electrons to calm rampaging free radicals that, if left to their own devices, can cause DNA and cell damage. These damages accumulate, eventually leading to inflammatory diseases, obesity, heart disease, and other illnesses.

So, what are the best sources of antioxidants? The answer is simple: Plants. In fact, plants have, on average, 5 to 33 times more antioxidant content than animal-based foods.¹

Much of the antioxidant capacities of plants can be attributed to short amino acid sequences called protein peptides. Once liberated from their parent proteins by your digestive enzymes, antioxidant protein peptides hunt down free radicals, terminating the radical chain reaction or preventing their formation.²

Collagen peptides have surged in popularity for their anti-aging and joint protective effects. But the discovery of antioxidant plant peptides is exciting for several reasons that go beyond anti-aging.

For one, antioxidant protein peptides can protect against lipid oxidation in food products, which reduces shelf-life of the food and can cause damage to human health. Some scientists believe that regular consumption of bioactive plant peptides could also help prevent cellular damages associated with oxidative stress.³

But what makes plant peptides so powerful? Scientists have found that the unique composition, sequence, size, and characteristics of bioactive plant peptides confer strong antioxidant properties. The presence of several amino acids, such as tyrosine, methionine, histidine, lysine, proline, and tryptophan have been reported to influence antioxidant activities.

For instance, the plant peptide lunasin (a 43-amino acid protein peptide) has been shown to protect against cancer and heart diseases in laboratory studies.^4,5 In another study, protein peptides found in perilla (Perilla frutescens L. Britton) seeds protected cells from hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative damage.⁶

What does the future hold for antioxidant plant peptides? We’ve only begun to learn about their amazing capabilities, but their potential seems to be almost endless!

---

References

¹ Carlsen MH, Halvorsen BL, Holte K, et al. The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide. Nutr J. 2010;9:3. Published 2010 Jan 22. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-9-3

² Matemu A, Nakamura S, Katayama S. Health Benefits of Antioxidative Peptides Derived from Legume Proteins with a High Amino Acid Score. Antioxidants. 2021;10(2):316. doi:10.3390/antiox10020316

³ Zhao Y, Zhao Q, Lu Q. Purification, structural analysis, and stability of antioxidant peptides from purple wheat bran. BMC Chemistry. 2020;14(1). doi:10.1186/s13065-020-00708-z

⁴ Demejia E, Delumen B. Soybean bioactive peptides: A new horizon in preventing chronic diseases. Sexuality, Reproduction and Menopause. 2006;4(2):91-95. doi:10.1016/j.sram.2006.08.012

⁵ García-Nebot MJ, Recio I, Hernández-Ledesma B. Antioxidant activity and protective effects of peptide lunasin against oxidative stress in intestinal Caco-2 cells. Food Chem Toxicol. 2014;65:155-161. doi:10.1016/j.fct.2013.12.021

⁶ Yang J, Hu L, Cai T, et al. Purification and identification of two novel antioxidant peptides from perilla (Perilla frutescens L. Britton) seed protein hydrolysates. Agbor G, ed. PLOS ONE. 2018;13(7):e0200021. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0200021