Abstract: Inflammation is the body’s defense response to infection, injury or chemical stimulation. Chronic inflammation can repeatedly destroy cells and tissues, leading to a variety of human diseases including intestinal inflammation. Food-derived bioactive peptides can be obtained from a wide varieties of sources and be rapidly absorbed, and are safe. In recent years, it has been found that food-derived bioactive peptides have anti-inflammatory activity and play an active role in maintaining intestinal health, and are thus promising for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Beginning with a summary of the current status of intestinal inflammation treatments, this paper reviews the sources, preparation, purification, identification, anti-inflammatory, activity evaluation and action mechanism of anti-inflammatory peptides, and discusses the current status of their application and future trends in this field of research. We expect that this review will provide a reference for the research and development of functional foods for intestinal health.

Key words: food-derived anti-inflammatory peptides; intestinal inflammation; inflammatory bowel disease; research progress