Herein disclosed are bioactive peptides and proteins having immunomodulating and antiviral activity, more particularly histidine-rich bioactive peptide complexes having the following structural formula (SEQ ID NO: 23):wherein: X1 is absent or contains not less than 1 amino acid and R1 and R2 are peptide chains containing the amino acid residues His or Cys, that interact with transition metal ions. Whereas R1 may contain up to 5 amino acid residues or alternatively be absent, R2 contains up to 3 amino acid residues or is alternatively absent. Such peptide complexes, primarily alloferon family peptides with Zn ions, enable the design of drugs based on an understanding of drug target structure and thus enable the creation of drugs with targeted mechanism of action.
