Plant Proteins (Peptides): Assessing Their Physicochemical Properties and Nutritional Quality

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Plant Foods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 May 2024) | Viewed by 4408

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State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
Interests: grain drinks; fermentation; nutritional evaluation; nutrition intervention; food hazard analysis
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Dear Colleagues,

Plant proteins (peptides) are plentifully available from a wide range of sources such as cereals, legumes, oilseeds, algae etc. In addition to many gifted functional properties (e.g., emulsifying capacity, gelling ability, foaming, water/oil retention etc.), some of them have a variety of physiological effects, including antioxidant activity, cholesterol reduction, anti-hypertension etc., especially specific hydrolytic peptides. The above-mentioned functional and physiological characteristics of plant proteins depend on their physicochemical and nutritional properties. For decades, the applications of plant proteins have been extended to provide specific uses in food processing and food formula design, such as emulsifiers, gelling agents, hypotensive/hypolipidemic ingredients etc., in ways that go far beyond their traditional roles as major nutrients. It is a great challenge to relate the functional and physiological attributes of plant proteins (peptides) to their physicochemical properties and nutritional qualities to further facilitate their uses in the modern food industry. More studies are encouraged for revealing protein–polysaccharide/protein–lipid interactions in specific food matrices, develo** novel processing techniques (e.g.,  high-wet extrusion, fermentation etc.), incorporating protein-generated flavors, and exploring potential nutritional interventions of plant proteins (peptides) among others.

Dr. Yuliang Cheng
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • plant protein
  • peptide
  • physicochemical property
  • nutritional quality
  • physiological effect

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3065 KiB  
Article
Enhancing the Physicochemical Attributes of Dough and Noodles through the Incorporation of Bacillus vallismortis Laccase
by **aoyu Zhu, Shi** Zhang, Luyao Bian, Juan Shen, Chong Zhang, Sivakumar Manickam, Yang Tao and Zhaoxin Lu
Foods 2023, 12(22), 4146; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224146 - 16 Nov 2023
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Abstract
This investigation examined how the Bacillus vallismortis laccase (rBVL-MRL522) influenced the physicochemical characteristics, structural attributes, and functional capabilities of both dough and noodles. Incorporating rBVL-MRL522 (1 U/g) did not lead to a substantial change in the water absorption of wheat flour. However, the [...] Read more.
This investigation examined how the Bacillus vallismortis laccase (rBVL-MRL522) influenced the physicochemical characteristics, structural attributes, and functional capabilities of both dough and noodles. Incorporating rBVL-MRL522 (1 U/g) did not lead to a substantial change in the water absorption of wheat flour. However, the introduction of rBVL-MRL522 caused a significant elongation in the formation time of wheat flour dough, extending it by 88.9%, and also resulted in a 50% increase in the stabilization duration of wheat flour dough. Furthermore, adding rBVL-MRL522 led to a proportional rise in both the elastic and viscous moduli (G’’ of the dough, signifying that r-BVL (rBVL-MRL522) has a beneficial effect on the gluten strength of the dough. Integrating rBVL-MRL522 promoted the consolidation of the gluten-based cross-linked structure within the dough, decreasing the size of starch particles and, more evenly, the dispersion of these starch particles. In the noodle processing, adding rBVL-MRL522 at a rate of 1 U/g raised the L* value of the noodles by 2.34 units compared to the noodles prepared without the inclusion of rBVL-MRL522. Using a greater amount of rBVL-MRL522 (2 U/g) substantially increased the hardness of the noodles by 51.31%. Additionally, rBVL-MRL522 showed a noteworthy enhancement in the elasticity, cohesiveness, and chewiness of the noodles. In conclusion, rBVL-MRL522 promoted the cross-linking gluten, leading to a more extensive and condensed three-dimensional network structure in raw and cooked noodles. As a result, this study offers valuable insights into the environmentally friendly processing of dough and associated products. Full article
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21 pages, 3912 KiB  
Article
Techno-Functional and Sensory Characterization of Commercial Plant Protein Powders
by Kadi Jakobson, Aleksei Kaleda, Karl Adra, Mari-Liis Tammik, Helen Vaikma, Tiina Kriščiunaite and Raivo Vilu
Foods 2023, 12(14), 2805; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12142805 - 24 Jul 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2400
Abstract
Many new plant proteins are appearing on the market, but their properties are insufficiently characterized. Hence, we collected 24 commercial proteins from pea, oat, fava bean, chickpea, mung bean, potato, canola, soy, and wheat, including different batches, and assessed their techno-functional and sensory [...] Read more.
Many new plant proteins are appearing on the market, but their properties are insufficiently characterized. Hence, we collected 24 commercial proteins from pea, oat, fava bean, chickpea, mung bean, potato, canola, soy, and wheat, including different batches, and assessed their techno-functional and sensory properties. Many powders had yellow, red, and brown color tones, but that of fava bean was the lightest. The native pH ranged from 6.0 to 7.7. The water solubility index was 28% on average, but after heat treatment the solubility typically increased. Soy isolate had by far the best water-holding capacity of 6.3 g (H2O) g−1, and canola had the highest oil-holding capacity of 2.8 g (oil) g−1. The foaming capacity and stability results were highly varied but typical to the raw material. The emulsification properties of all powders were similar. Upon heating, the highest viscosity and storage modulus were found in potato, canola, and mung bean. All powders had raw material flavor, were bitter and astringent, and undissolved particles were perceived in the mouth. Large differences in functionality were found between the batches of one pea powder. In conclusion, we emphasize the need for methodological standardization, but while respecting the conditions found in end applications like meat and dairy analogs. Full article
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Review

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21 pages, 2304 KiB  
Review
Diversified Techniques for Restructuring Meat Protein-Derived Products and Analogues
by Yuliang Cheng, Yiyun Meng and Shengnan Liu
Foods 2024, 13(12), 1950; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13121950 - 20 Jun 2024
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Abstract
Accompanied by the rapid growth of the global population and increasing public awareness of protein-rich foods, the market demand for protein-derived products is booming. Utilizing available technologies to make full use of meat by-products, such as scraps, trimmings, etc., to produce restructured meat [...] Read more.
Accompanied by the rapid growth of the global population and increasing public awareness of protein-rich foods, the market demand for protein-derived products is booming. Utilizing available technologies to make full use of meat by-products, such as scraps, trimmings, etc., to produce restructured meat products and explore emerging proteins to produce meat analogues can be conducive to alleviating the pressure on supply ends of the market. The present review summarizes diversified techniques (such as high-pressure processing, ultrasonic treatment, edible polysaccharides modification, enzymatic restructuring, etc.) that have been involved in restructuring meat protein-derived products as well as preparing meat analogues identified so far and classifying them into three main categories (physical, chemical and enzymatic). The target systems, processing conditions, effects, advantages, etc., of the included techniques, are comprehensively and systemically summarized and discussed, and their existing problems or develo** trends are also briefly prospected. It can be concluded that a better quality of restructured products can be obtained by the combination of different restructuring technologies. This review provides a valuable reference both for the research and industrial production of restructured meat protein-derived products and analogues. Full article
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