Department of Chemistry, Technology and Biotechnology of Food of GUT has been carrying out the research aiming at development of methods enabling rational management of feathers – waste by-product of poultry industry, for several years. The feathers consist of approx. 90% of keratinous proteins, which are a promising substrates for production of bioactive peptides and Maillard reaction products that may be useful in the prevention and treatment of certain lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes or hypertension. The main goal of the project is to develop proper conditions for the processing of keratin from chicken feathers in order to obtain biopeptides, then Maillard reaction products, and to investigate the properties of obtained preparations. The keratin will be extracted from feathers via reduction of the protein disulfide bonds, subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis, and then the Maillard reaction involving various reducing sugars. The resulting products will be purified by chromatographic methods and their structural properties will be determined by spectroscopic methods. The biological activity of the obtained hydrolysates, peptides and Maillard reaction products will be determined by assaying their inhibitory properties against angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP IV), and their potential mutagenicity. The cellular antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity of the obtained products, and their ability to affect the expression of several redox-related genes will be investigated using the Caco-2 cell line. The bioavailability of these preparations will be determined with the Caco2-HT29 cell co-culture. Additionally, their functional characteristics will be assayed, i.e. solubility, foaming and emulsifying properties. The results of the project will allow to develop a rational method of managing the chicken feathers to produce biologically active peptides and Maillard reaction products from keratin. Achieving the research goals will allow to indicate the application possibilities of the obtained preparations in the production of functional foods, supplements or even pharmaceuticals useful in the prevention or treatment of metabolic diseases. An additional effect of the proposed research project will be publication of the results obtained in the journals included in the Journal Citation Reports.