Antioxidant and antimicrobial peptidic hydrolysates from muscle protein sources and by-products

Bioactive peptides are short peptides approximately 2–30 amino acids in length. They are inactive within the sequence of the parent protein and can be released during gastrointestinal digestion, during food processing or by hydrolysis using commercial enzymes. Meat derived peptides have a myriad of bioactive potential including, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-thrombotic, ACE-I-inhibitory and cytomodulatory functions. Antioxidant and antimicrobial peptides isolated from meat muscle sources may be used as functional ingredient in food formulations to impart human health benefits and/or improve the shelf life of foods. This review collates information regarding peptidic hydrolysates with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties isolated from vertebrate and invertebrate muscle and by-products, identifying the sources, the isolation and characterisation techniques used, and the methods used to demonstrate these bioactivities in vitro.