This paper is a mini-review on the nutritional value of cheese with a focus on the identification of different biologically active peptides in cheese and the evidence built about their health benefits. From a nutritional point of view, cheese is a rich source of essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, and also short chain fatty acids that are important as part of a healthy diet. In addition, during cheese ripening, casein is hydrolyzed into a large variety of peptides by proteases and peptidases from milk, rennet, starter culture, and secondary microbial flora. Some of these peptides are structurally similar to endogenous peptides that play a crucial role in the organism as hormones, neurotransmitters, or antibiotics. Some of them can also survive gastrointestinal digestion or serve as precursors of the final peptide form. Furthermore, some of these cheese-derived peptides can interact with the same receptors than endogenous peptides and exert agonistic or antagonistic effects in the organism. This paper reviews the identification of different biologically active peptides in cheese and the evidence built about their health benefits. Activities have been mainly proven by using in vitro assays and in cell cultures, but in some cases the activity has been also assessed in animal models. In any case, there is still a long way to demonstrate the “hidden” health benefits of cheese in humans.干酪中生物活性肽的健康和营养-综述

从营养角度来看,干酪富含非常重要的营养物质,如蛋白质、维生素、矿物质和一些短链脂肪酸,这些物质是健康饮食中很重要的一部分。另外,干酪在成熟期间,酪蛋白被来自牛乳、凝乳酶、发酵剂和次级微生物菌群的蛋白酶和肽酶水解成各种各样的肽。这些肽中有的与干酪中内源肽如激素、神经递质、激素的结构相似,在有机体合成中起着关键的作用。有些肽能够以胃肠消化的形式存在或作为最后肽的前体物。另外,一些干酪衍生肽能够与结构相似的内源肽受体一起相互作用在机体中发挥竞争或拮抗的作用。本文综述了干酪中不同生物活性肽的鉴定以及对人体健康的评价。肽的生物活性主要通过采用体外细胞培养方法进行评价,但是,大多数情况下,肽的生物活性通过动物模型来评价。干酪对人类营养和健康的作用还有很多未知,有待进一步挖掘。