Recent advances in the valorization of seed wastes as source of bioactive peptides with multifunctional properties

Background: Fruit and vegetable seeds represent an important source of bioactive (proteins, polysaccharides, flavonoids, carotenoids, lignans, and vitamins) useful ingredients for food supplements and functional foods, providing health benefits and having important implications mainly in the prevention of cardiovascular and neurological disorders. Bioactive protein hydrolysates and peptides recovered from food wastes have significant functional and nutraceutical value, acting mainly as antihypertensive, hypoglycemic, hypocholesterolemic, and antioxidant agents. Scope and Approach: This review article discusses the main bioactivities of peptides deriving from different fruit and vegetable seed wastes, focusing on their molecular mechanisms of action. The protein extraction, purification, fractionation, and analysis approaches to obtain the highest amount and the hugest typology of bioactive peptides are also commented. Findings and conclusions: As a matter of fact, an important issue that over time limited the use of seed wastes was the notable costs of extraction and purification of plant proteins: the here reported modern approaches could ensure a higher recovery of bioactive peptides with very promising applications at industrial level. In addition, the optimization of detoxification processes resolved another potential disadvantage, that is the presence of toxic derivatives in some plant seeds. At the present, digestion studies useful to better clarify the peptide bioavailability and to predict their effective role in vivo and potential re-use are still lacking. However, they are an important issue for the development and commercial perspectives of new protein-based products and therefore should be mandatory.