Exploring the potential of plant-derived metal ion binding peptides: Preparation, structure-activity relationship, and biological activities

Background: Metal ion are critical trace elements necessary for various biological functions. Metal ions-binding peptides demonstrate promise for addressing metal deficiencies in food. Plant-derived metal ion-binding peptides emerge as promising candidates, offering natural sourcing, ease of production, and sustainability, which have shown potential in enhancing the absorption of essential metals such as calcium, iron, zinc, and copper. Scope and approach: In this review, various contents were discussed for the preparation, purification, and identification of these peptides, elucidating the binding mechanism between peptide and metal ion, and emphasizing the importance of understanding their structure-activity relationship. Furthermore, the structure of plant-derived peptides changed after binding with metal ion, providing additional health benefits surpassing the essential dietary needs for metal ion, including antioxidant, alleviating metabolic syndrome, antimicrobial properties, immunomodulatory and anti-Alzheimer's disease effects. Key findings and conclusion: Plant-derived metal ion binding peptides have emerged as sustainable and environmentally friendly supplements that are crucial for maintaining human health and nutrition. Their production critically depends on enzymatic hydrolysis, purification technology, and accurate identification methods. Bioinformatics is a pivotal component in facilitating rapid identification. Plant-derived metal ion binding peptides exhibit diverse binding modes and biological activities, which are influenced by their structure characteristics. Further investigation is crucial to discover novel peptides, understand their structure-activity relationships, and investigate their biological activities. The advancements in this field have the potential to greatly impact on nutrition, health, and the food industry, emphasizing the necessity for ongoing research and development of plant-derived metal ion binding peptides.