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E. GONZALEZ DE MEJÍA, Dept. of Food Science & Human Nutrition, Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1201 W. Gregory Dr., 228 ERML, MC-051, Urbana, IL 61801 Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Dietary proteins can be important sources of bioactive peptides with specific biological activities including food intake regulation. As such, the so-called anorectic peptides have potential in the management of obesity. Bioactive peptides are small protein fragments produced by gastrointestinal digestion. Food processing, particularly fermentation in which microorganism and enzymes are involved, may also lead to their formation. Most bioactive peptides commonly contain 2-9 amino acids. Peptides may be present as independent entities or encrypted in the parent protein and are resistant to digestion by peptidases. Soybean protein can also be a source of anorectic bioactive peptides formed by protein hydrolysis during processing. The action of these bioactive peptides is at the intestinal level where they stimulate opioid and cholecystokinin receptors, which induce satiety suggesting that their mechanism of action is to regulate food intake. This effect may then lead to a decrease in energy intake and eventual weight loss. Although more mechanistic studies are needed, these results support the concept that food-born peptides from soy can play a role in controlling obesity. All these findings are encouraging, however, long-term clinical studies are still needed to assess the true contribution of soy peptides in weight management. This may include their synergistic effect when used in combination with low energy diets. Furthermore, understanding whether in vivo digestion of food proteins releases the same peptide fragments as the ones in vitro experiments is an important question. It is also important to discover new peptides with health benefits in soy-hydrolysates and fermented foods. The identification of these compounds will contribute toward a better understanding of soy and may lead to the development of new functional foods.
Session 106, Protein hydrolysates and/or bioactive peptides in nutraceuticals and functional foods
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |