New strategies including coupling or integration of

complementary processes are necessary to establish economical and efficient industrial scale processes not only for fractionation, but also for simultaneous and continuous production of peptides with different bioactive properties. For example, Wu et al. [13] reported that an enzymatic ultrafiltration (UF) membrane reactor in conjunction with chromatography could be used to achieve continuous hydrolysis and isolation of multi-functional peptides more effectively than the traditional mode using batch reactors. The selection of membranes with appropriate molecular weight cut-off followed by either size-exclusion chromatography or cation exchange chromatography enabled simultaneous production and isolation GSK1120212 in vivo of peptides with ACE-inhibitory, calcium-binding and antimicrobial properties [13]. In recent years, a process coined ‘EDUF’ for ‘electrodialysis with UF membranes’ has been explored to separate molecules by electric charge and molecular mass 14 and 15•. In EDUF, the driving force through the membranes is via an electric field (anode/cathode) rather than by pressure as is the case

with conventional UF, thus mitigating the limitations of both chromatography selleck (high cost) and pressure-driven membrane (fouling) processes. EDUF can be used to achieve simultaneous production and fractionation in a single step, and the higher resolution achieved by stacking differently sized UF membranes can result in purified peptide fractions with higher functionality and bioactivity

[15•]. Bioinformatics, also known as in silico prediction and analysis, refers to computational methods applied to manage, curate and interpret information on biological systems, in this case, the bioactive peptides derived from food. Based on knowledge about structure and activity of peptides reported GPX6 in the literature and deposited in pertinent databases, computational approaches may be applied to elucidate structure–function relationships, predict peptide sequences likely to exhibit specific activities, locate peptides encrypted in particular protein sources, envisage release of those fragments by specific enzymatic cleavage, and propose the putative mechanism of action through molecular docking of binding sites [16]. Although there is a growing bank of databases pertinent to bioactive peptides and the proteolytic enzymes that may be used to release them from food proteins [17], the majority describe bioactive peptides found endogenously, that is, of physiological relevance, rather than being derived from food.