Opioid Peptides: An Overview of Functional Significance

Bioactive peptides have been reported to exhibit opioid-like activity and are termed as opioid peptides. Either these are produced within the human body or they are derived from certain food sources (milk, cereals, vegetables, meat, poultry etc.), the former being endogenous opioid peptides and the latter are the exogenous opioid peptides. The opioid peptides perform a wide range of biological functions including neuromodulation, hormone-like function, analgesia, sedative effect, sleepiness, anti-hypertensive effect, ACE-inhibitory activity and many more. However, also possess adverse effects such as depressive effect, development of alcoholism, inflammation, apnea, autism and even death in rare cases. The effect of various processing methods and techniques on the opioid peptides requires further exploration. This is a unique and comprehensive review that will explore the opioid peptides, their types, sources, distribution and mechanism of action as well as the health effects.