Considering food matrix and gastrointestinal effects in enhancing bioactive peptide absorption and bioavailability

Bioavailability of bioactive peptides (BAPs) represents the amount of peptides absorbed through normal pathways, after oral intake, and distributed in target tissues to exhibit bioactive properties. The small intestine is the primary location of the gastrointestinal tract where peptide absorption mainly occurs. BAPs are beneficial to health upon reaching their physiological sites of action without structural changes. Despite the rapid and dynamic evolvement of research into food peptides, there is still a knowledge gap regarding their bioaccessibility and bioavailability for systemic circulation to targeted organs. Beside the digestive actions of endogenous proteases and peptidases, chemical and nutritional compositions of the food matrix and their physical forms (e.g., liquid, puree, gel, solid) are also critical factors that can influence the interactions, digestibility, bioaccessibility and bioavailability of BAPs. Detailed understanding of such food matrix factors can be explored for enhancing the bioavailability of BAPs and achieving their positive health effects.