# Algae-Derived Peptides as Functional Food Ingredients: Bioactivities, Processing Challenges, and Computational Design Strategies

## TL;DR

Algae proteins and peptides show promise as functional food ingredients with health benefits, but challenges in production and stability remain.

## Contribution

This review highlights the potential of algae-derived peptides and the emerging role of computational tools in overcoming their processing challenges.

## Key findings

- Algae peptides exhibit antioxidant, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory activities.
- Computational methods like QSAR and molecular docking can aid in peptide discovery and design.
- Production and bioavailability challenges hinder large-scale use of algae-derived peptides.

## Abstract

Algae-derived proteins and peptides have gained increasing interest as sustainable bioresources with valuable nutritional and functional properties. This review aims to synthesize current knowledge on their characteristics and applications while highlighting the emerging role of computational tools in peptide research. Key findings show that algae provide diverse proteins and bioactive peptides with advantageous amino acid profiles and notable antioxidant, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and skin-protective activities. Their applications span food formulation, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, although large-scale utilization remains constrained by production, stability, and bioavailability challenges. Computational strategies, including virtual enzymatic hydrolysis, machine-learning prediction, QSAR modeling, molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and toxicity/allergenicity assessment, offer promising avenues for efficient peptide discovery, though their use in algae is still limited. Overall, this review underscores the potential of algae-derived proteins and peptides as multifunctional ingredients and emphasizes the need to integrate in silico pipelines with improved processing and delivery systems to accelerate future translational applications.