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[email protected] Current Medicinal Chemistry, 2016, 23, 893-910 eISSN: 1875-533X ISSN: 0929-8673 Current Impact Factor: Food Proteins as Source of Opioid Peptides-A Review 3.85 Medicinal Chemistry The International Journal for Timely In-depth Reviews Swati Garg, Kulmira Nurgali and Vijay Kumar Mishra* in Medicinal Chemistry BENTHAM SCIENCE College of Health and Biomedicine, Victoria University, PO Box 14428, Melbourne, Victoria 8001, Australia Abstract: Traditional opioids, mainly alkaloids, have been used in the clinical management of pain for a number of years but are often associated with numerous side-effects including sedation, dizziness, physical dependence, tolerance, addiction, nausea, vomiting, constipa- tion and respiratory depression which prevent their effective use. Opioid peptides derived from food provide significant advantages as safe and natural alternative due to the possibility of their production using animal and plant proteins as well as comparatively less side-effects. This review aims to discuss the current literature on food-derived opioid peptides focusing on their produc- tion, methods of detection, isolation and purification. The need for screening more dietary proteins as a source of novel opioid peptides is emphasized in order to fully understand their potential in pain management either as a drug or as part of diet complementing therapeutic prescription. Keywords: Opioids, peptide, opioid-receptors, casomorphins, exorphin, fermentation. 1. INTRODUCTION dicinal effects are predominantly due to the presence of polyphenols, antioxidants, probiotics, tannins, polyun- Food provides energy and essential nutrients to the saturated fatty acids or bioactive peptides. body in the form of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vita- mins and minerals which are necessary for proper Bioactive peptides are inactive within native pro- growth, development and functioning of the body.