Valorization of Oilseed Cakes Into Bioactive Peptides: Processing Structure Function Relationships, Biological Activities, and Functional Food Applications

ABSTRACT

Oilseed cakes are protein‐rich by‐products of the edible‐oil industry and represent underutilized resources for the production of high‐value protein hydrolysates and bioactive peptides. This review critically examines the valorization of oilseed cake proteins through chemical, enzymatic, microbial, thermal, and emerging hydrolysis approaches, with particular emphasis on the relationships among processing conditions, peptide characteristics, biological activities, and techno‐functional properties. Factors influencing protein hydrolysis and peptide profiles are discussed alongside characterization methods, including degree of hydrolysis, chromatographic separation, liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, peptide sequencing, and bioinformatic analysis. Oilseed cake‐derived peptides are evaluated for antioxidant, antihypertensive, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anti‐inflammatory, anti‐obesity, immunomodulatory, and anticancer activities, with most reported evidence derived from in vitro assays and limited validation in animal models. Their functional properties, including solubility, water‐ and oil‐holding capacity, emulsification, foaming, gelation, and thermal stability, are also examined in relation to potential applications in beverages, bakery products, dairy alternatives, meat analogues, and other functional foods. However, insufficient human clinical validation restricts the extrapolation of these findings to physiological health effects. Major barriers to commercial utilization include bitterness, variable peptide composition, antinutritional factors, allergenicity, limited gastrointestinal stability and bioavailability, and challenges in process standardization and scale‐up. Establishing robust processing–structure–function relationships and scalable production strategies will be essential for transforming oilseed cakes into standardized bioactive peptide ingredients for functional foods and nutraceutical applications.