Antioxidant, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activity and other functional properties of egg white proteins and their derived peptides - A review

Egg white contains many functionally important proteins: ovalbumin (54%), ovotransferrin (12%), ovomucoid (11%), ovoglobulin (G2 and G3, 8%), ovomucin (3.5%), and lysozyme (3.5%) are major proteins, while ovoinhibitors, ovomacroglobulin, ovoglycoprotein, ovoflavoprotein, thiamine-binding proteins, and avidin are minor proteins present in egg white. These proteins, as well as the peptides derived from the proteins, have been recognized for their functional importance as antioxidant, antimicrobial, metal-chelating, anti-viral, anti-tumour, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activities. Among the functional properties of the peptides, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities are important characteristics for food processing while other properties such as ACE-inhibitory activity of the peptides can have important health-related functionalities. Bioactive peptides can be produced from egg white proteins by enzyme hydrolysis, chemical treatments, or thermal treatments at different pH conditions. The effective functional peptides produced from egg white proteins are usually smaller than 2 kDa in molecular size. However, these peptides are known for their beneficial activities in vitro only, and little work has been done to prove their beneficial effects in vivo. Therefore, further studies are needed to see if the bioactive peptides derived from egg white proteins are helpful for humans in the future.