Food-derived bioactive peptides in gut-muscle Axis regulation: Potential and challenges from microbiota homeostasis to muscle metabolism remodeling.

The global population is aging at an accelerating pace, and sarcopenia has emerged as a central challenge to elderly health. Food-derived bioactive peptides, as natural functional compounds, can interact significantly with the gut microbiota, thereby indirectly influencing muscle metabolism and function. This review systematically summarizes the pathological mechanisms of sarcopenia and its associated complications. Moreover, it reveals the complex interactions between food-derived bioactive peptides and the gut microbiome, and innovatively summarizes the multi-level mechanisms by which these peptides regulate the gut-muscle axis. Furthermore, we discuss current research limitations, including the limited translational potential of animal models, insufficient precision of detection techniques, and lack of clinical validation. Future research directions are proposed, including leveraging multi-omics and artificial intelligence approaches for peptide-microbiota-metabolite functional prediction, employing organoid and organ-on-a-chip platforms for mechanistic validation, and advancing systematic translation through high-quality clinical trials. This review aims to provide a comprehensive theoretical framework and offer direction for the application of food-derived bioactive peptides based on gut-muscle axis interventions.