Dietary peptides in aging: Evidence and prospects

Abstract With improvements in healthcare and lifestyle, the proportion of the aging population is rising steadily across the world. Many physiological functions are altered during aging and resemble those occurring in disease conditions involving metabolic and mitochondrial disturbances. Thus, there is an urge to better develop dietary or medicinal interventions targeting the mechanisms underlying aging and aging-related diseases. Many reports indicate that in geroscience, dietary interventions such as bioactive peptides to slow aging are a matter of 'when' rather than 'if'. Leading targets for peptides include the metabolic-mitochondrial pathway accompanied by improved nutrient sensing. Modulation of these pathways diminish aging biomarkers in various model organisms and confers protection against a growing list of age-related pathophysiologies. Food derived bioactive peptides are characterized modulators of these pathways, while some verified in vivo and even clinically approved, and numerous others are under development. This brief review focuses on the latest scientific advances in understanding the anti-aging ability of bioactive peptides as well as delineates the possible future directions in this process.