Plant Peptides: Bioactivity, Opportunities and Challenges.

Bioactive peptides from plants are an underexplored domain in the field of proteomics and peptidomics. Recent evidences of plant peptides being more than chemical signals and indeed, functioning in the responses of plants to diverse environmental cues such as stress and infection by pathogens, suggests their potentially wide applicability in agrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. With cutting-edge technologies available, studies on plant peptides still lag behind those from food or microorganisms. The current mini-review provides an overview of the major bioactivity documented of plant-based peptides. It further underlines the techniques associated with isolation and identification of peptides, the limitations associated with these techniques and the '-omics' revolution that is playing a major part in better understanding of these peptides.