Improper nutrition provokes many types of chronic diseases and health problems, which consequently are associated with particularly high costs of treatments. Nowadays, consumer’s interest in healthy eating is shifting towards specific foods or food ingredients. As a consequence, bioactive peptides as a promising source of health promoting food additives are currently an intensely debated topic in research. Process design is still on its early stages and is significantly influenced by important preliminary decisions. Thus, parameters like peptide bioactivity within the product, selection of the protein source, enzyme selection for hydrolysis, peptide enrichment method, as well as stability of the peptides within the food matrix and bioavailability are sensitive decision points, which have to be purposefully coordinated, as they are directly linked to amino acid content and structure properties of the peptides. Branched chain amino acids (BCAA) are essential components for humans, possessing various important physiologic functions within the body. Incorporated within peptide sequences, they may induce dual functions, when used as nutraceuticals in functional food, thus preserving the foodstuff and prevent several widespread diseases. Furthermore, there is evidence that consuming this peptide-class can be a nutritional support for elderly people or improve human health to prevent diseases caused by incorrect nutrition. Based on the knowledge about the role of BCAA within various peptide functions, discussed in the review, special attention is given to different approaches for systematic selection of the protein source and enzymes used in hydrolysis, as well as suitable peptide enrichment methods, thereby showing current trends in research.

营养不良会引发许多类型的慢性病和健康问题，因此，治疗费用特别高。如今，消费者对健康饮食的兴趣正在转向特定的食物或食品成分。结果，生物活性肽作为促进健康的食品添加剂的一种有希望的来源目前是研究中一个激烈争论的话题。工艺设计仍处于早期阶段，并且受到重要的初步决策的影响很大。因此，诸如产品中肽的生物活性，蛋白质来源的选择，水解的酶选择，肽富集方法以及食品基质中肽的稳定性和生物利用度等参数是敏感的决策点，必须有目的地加以协调，因为它们直接与肽的氨基酸含量和结构特性有关。支链氨基酸（BCAA）是人体的必需成分，在体内具有各种重要的生理功能。当掺入肽序列中时，它们在功能性食品中用作保健食品时可能会诱导双重功能，从而保护食品并预防多种广泛的疾病。此外，有证据表明，食用这种肽类可以为老年人提供营养支持或改善人体健康，以预防由营养不当引起的疾病。基于本综述中讨论的有关BCAA在各种肽功能中的作用的知识，特别关注了系统选择水解中使用的蛋白质来源和酶的不同方法，