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Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications
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Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Physics and (Bio)Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 July 2024) | Viewed by 10450

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Jing Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food and Nutrition Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: food innovation; food function; dual-protein
Dr. Xiaoye He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Food and Nutrition Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: dual-protein; high pressure processing; emulsion; physicochemical properties; structure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Protein is a kind of organic compound with a complex chemical structure, and it is an essential nutrient for the human body. Protein is one of the important components of the human body, as all its cells and tissues contain protein. It has been proved that the birth, existence, and extinction of life are all related to protein. Protein is the material basis of life, and there would be no life without protein.

The intake of dietary protein is the basis of evaluating human nutritional status, and a certain amount of high-quality protein should be ensured in dietary protein. Processing technology impacts protein. The application of some emerging technologies, such as ultrasound, high-pressure, microwave, and pulsed electric field in non-thermal processing technology, can reduce the impact of processing technology on protein and maintain its original nutritional value to the greatest extent. In addition, people's awareness of health is growing. Now, it has become a hot spot to discuss the nutritional functional characteristics of high-quality diet protein and the research and application of new nutritious and healthy food.

Dr. Jing Wang
Dr. Xiaoye He
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • protein
  • dietary protein
  • dual-protein
  • structure
  • nutrition
  • function
  • application

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1616 KiB  
Article
Effects of High-Pressure Homogenization on the Structure and Functional Properties of Solenaia oleivora Proteins
by Wanwen Chen, Xueyan Ma, Wu Jin, Haibo Wen, Gangchun Xu, Pao Xu and Hao Cheng
Foods 2024, 13(18), 2958; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13182958 - 18 Sep 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 503
Abstract
Solenaia oleivora, a rare freshwater shellfish with high protein quality, is unique to China. However, the poor hydrosolubility and functional properties of Solenaia oleivora proteins hinder their utilization in food products. Herein, the alkaline dissolution-isoelectric precipitation method was used for the extraction [...] Read more.
Solenaia oleivora, a rare freshwater shellfish with high protein quality, is unique to China. However, the poor hydrosolubility and functional properties of Solenaia oleivora proteins hinder their utilization in food products. Herein, the alkaline dissolution-isoelectric precipitation method was used for the extraction of Solenaia oleivora proteins. Furthermore, the impact of high-pressure homogenization (HPH) treatment varying from 0 to 100 MPa on the structure and functional properties of Solenaia oleivora proteins was investigated. The obtained results indicated that HPH treatment decreased the α-helix content and enhanced the β-sheet and random coil content. Furthermore, the HPH caused the unfolding of protein structure, exposing aromatic amino acids, increasing the free thiol group content, and enhancing surface hydrophobicity. As the homogenization pressure increased from 0 to 100 MPa, the particle size of Solenaia oleivora proteins decreased from 899 to 197 nm with the polymer dispersity index (PDI) value decreased from 0.418 to 0.151, the ζ-potential increased from −22.82 to −43.26 mV, and the solubility increased from 9.54% to 89.96%. Owing to the significant changes in protein structure and solubility, the emulsifying, foaming, and digestive properties of Solenaia oleivora proteins have been significantly improved after treatment with HPH. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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14 pages, 4039 KiB  
Article
Oral Yak Whey Protein Can Alleviate UV-Induced Skin Photoaging and Modulate Gut Microbiota Composition
by Diandian Wang, Yaxi Zhou, Jian Zhao, Chao Ren and Wenjie Yan
Foods 2024, 13(16), 2621; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13162621 - 21 Aug 2024
Viewed by 798
Abstract
Excessive UV exposure can lead to skin roughness, wrinkles, pigmentation, and reduced elasticity, with severe cases potentially causing skin cancer. Nowadays, various anti-photoaging strategies have been developed to maintain skin health. Among them, dietary supplements with anti-photoaging properties are gaining increasing attention. Yak [...] Read more.
Excessive UV exposure can lead to skin roughness, wrinkles, pigmentation, and reduced elasticity, with severe cases potentially causing skin cancer. Nowadays, various anti-photoaging strategies have been developed to maintain skin health. Among them, dietary supplements with anti-photoaging properties are gaining increasing attention. Yak whey protein (YWP) possesses multiple benefits, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-boosting properties, effectively protecting the skin. This study used a mixed UVA and UVB light source to irradiate a nude mouse model, exploring the advantages of YWP in anti-photoaging and regulating gut microbiota. The results indicated that YWP alleviated UV-induced skin damage, wrinkles, dryness, and reduced elasticity by inhibiting oxidative stress, inflammatory factors (IL-1α, IL-6, and TNF-α), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-1, MMP-3, and MMP-12), thereby increasing the levels of elastin, type I collagen, and type III collagen in the extracellular matrix (ECM). Additionally, YWP significantly improved the abundance of Firmicutes and Bacteroidota in the gut microbiota of mice, promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria such as Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Ruminococcus_torques_group, and Clostridia_UCG_014, mitigating the dysbiosis caused by photoaging. These findings underscore the potential of YWP in anti-photoaging and gut microbiota improvement, highlighting it as a promising functional food for enhancing skin and gut health. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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16 pages, 5614 KiB  
Article
Effect of Rice Bran Protein on the Foaming Properties and Foaming Characteristics of Rice Bran Protein–Sodium Caseinate and Rice Bran Protein Nanoparticles–Sodium Caseinate
by Yanpeng Zhang, Delong Li, Yunchun Diao, Wei Xu, Guozhen Wang, Zhixiong Hu and Chun Hu
Foods 2024, 13(15), 2328; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13152328 - 24 Jul 2024
Viewed by 1317
Abstract
Rice bran, a byproduct of rice milling, comprises 12–14% protein. The foaming properties and associated mechanisms of the composite rice bran protein system were not well studied. In this study, a composite protein system composed of rice bran protein (RBP)–sodium caseinate (NaCas) and [...] Read more.
Rice bran, a byproduct of rice milling, comprises 12–14% protein. The foaming properties and associated mechanisms of the composite rice bran protein system were not well studied. In this study, a composite protein system composed of rice bran protein (RBP)–sodium caseinate (NaCas) and rice bran protein nanoparticles (RBPNs)–sodium caseinate (NaCas) was investigated. The results showed that the synergistic effect of RBP and NaCas increased the foaming stability of the composite solution up to 83.77 ± 2.75%. Moreover, the foaming capacity and foaming stability of the RBPNs-NaCas composite solution were up to 177.50 ± 3.53% and 80.28 ± 0.39%, respectively. The physicochemical properties results revealed that the particle size volume peaks of RBP-NaCas and RBPNs-NaCas were mainly concentrated at 55.7 nm and 197.1 nm, and RBPNs-NaCas showed a wider single peak particle size distribution. The ζ-potential values of RBP-NaCas and RBPNs-NaCas were changed to −35.5 ± 0.07 mV and −27.2 ± 0.28 mV after complexation. The apparent viscosity and consistency factor of RBP-NaCas decreased by 31.1% compared to RBP, while RBPNs-NaCas displayed similar parameters to the single proteins. The interfacial rheological test showed that RBP and RBPNs can significantly improve the interfacial properties of NaCas by enhancing the interfacial interaction and the interfacial viscoelastic modulus of composite proteins, which is conducive to the stability of the foam system. The outcome of the study provided a theoretical basis for RBP and RBPNs to partially replace NaCas in the processing of foamed food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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15 pages, 11848 KiB  
Article
Dynamic Gastrointestinal Digestion of Bovine, Caprine and Ovine Milk Reconstituted from Commercial Whole Milk Powders
by Siqi Li, Aiqian Ye, Jian Cui, Yu Zhang, Lara Ware, Jody C. Miller, Holly Abbotts-Holmes, Nicole C. Roy, Harjinder Singh and Warren McNabb
Foods 2024, 13(9), 1403; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13091403 - 2 May 2024
Viewed by 1213
Abstract
The global dairy market has been increasingly diversified with more dairy product offerings of milk products from different animal species. Meanwhile, milk powders remain the main exported dairy product format due to their ease of transportation. In this work, we studied the structural [...] Read more.
The global dairy market has been increasingly diversified with more dairy product offerings of milk products from different animal species. Meanwhile, milk powders remain the main exported dairy product format due to their ease of transportation. In this work, we studied the structural changes, protein hydrolysis and nutrient delivery during dynamic gastric digestion and small intestinal digestion of cow, goat and sheep milk reconstituted from commercial whole milk powders. The results show that the reconstituted milks digest similarly to processed fresh milk. The digestion behaviors of the three reconstituted ruminant milks are broadly similar (gastric coagulation, kinetics of gastric emptying of protein and fat and the high digestibility in the small intestine) with some differences, which are likely contributed by the processing history of the milk powders. The delivery of individual amino acids to the small intestine differed between the early and late stages of gastric digestion, which were primarily affected by the abundance of amino acids in caseins and whey proteins but also by the difference between milk types associated with their gastric coagulation behaviors. This work showed that powdered milk is similar to fresh processed milk in digestion behavior, and the inherent differences between ruminant milks can be modified by processing treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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17 pages, 7232 KiB  
Article
Dynamic In Vitro Gastric Digestion Behaviour of Commercial Infant Formulae Made with Cow, Goat and Sheep Milk
by Xuan Song, Xin Wang, Mengxiao Yang, Alejandra Acevedo-Fani, Harjinder Singh and Aiqian Ye
Foods 2024, 13(9), 1286; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13091286 - 23 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1172
Abstract
There are a wide range of commercial infant formulae available on the market. These are made using milk from different species, such as goat, sheep, and cow. The different protein compositions of these milks and the process used during infant-formulae manufacture, such as [...] Read more.
There are a wide range of commercial infant formulae available on the market. These are made using milk from different species, such as goat, sheep, and cow. The different protein compositions of these milks and the process used during infant-formulae manufacture, such as heat treatment, may impact the digestion of nutrients. This study compared the effect of protein composition and heat treatment on the in vitro gastric digestion behaviour of commercial infant formulae made with cow, goat, and sheep milk using a dynamic infant human gastric simulator (IHGS). During the simulated dynamic gastric digestion, the goat milk infant formula (GIF) showed earlier signs of aggregate formation compared to cow milk infant formula (CIF) and sheep milk infant formula (SIF). In addition, the microstructures of GIF chyme showed fragmented and porous structures. On the contrary, CIF formed dense protein networks that trapped oil droplets, whereas SIF exhibited a microstructure of smooth oil droplets surrounded by fewer protein networks. The different aggregation behaviours and aggregate structures of the three infant-formulae chyme were related to their different protein compositions, especially the different casein compositions. Furthermore, the open fragile structure of GIF aggregates provided easier access to pepsin, allowing it to hydrolyse protein. The results from the present study provided some information to assist in understanding the coagulation and digestion behaviours of commercial infant formulae made from different species of milk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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20 pages, 8520 KiB  
Article
The Effect of High Pressure Homogenization on the Structure of Dual-Protein and Its Emulsion Functional Properties
by Meishan Wu, Xiaoye He, Duo Feng, Hu Li, Di Han, Qingye Li, Boya Zhao, Na Li, Tianxin Liu and Jing Wang
Foods 2023, 12(18), 3358; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12183358 - 7 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2290
Abstract
It has been proven that high-pressure homogenization (HPH) could improve the functional properties of proteins by modifying their structure. This study researched the effect of HPH on the structural and functional properties of whey-soy dual-protein (Soy Protein Isolation-Whey Protein Isolation, SPI-WPI). Different protein [...] Read more.
It has been proven that high-pressure homogenization (HPH) could improve the functional properties of proteins by modifying their structure. This study researched the effect of HPH on the structural and functional properties of whey-soy dual-protein (Soy Protein Isolation-Whey Protein Isolation, SPI-WPI). Different protein solution samples were treated with HPH at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 MPa, and the structure changed under different pressures was analyzed by measuring particle size, zeta potential, Fourier infrared spectrum (FTIR), fluorescence spectrum and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results showed that HPH significantly reduced the particle size of SPI-WPI, changed the secondary and tertiary structures and improved the hydrophobic interaction between molecules. In addition, HPH significantly improved the solubility and emulsification of all proteins, and the improvement effect on SPI-WPI was significantly better than SPI and WPI. It was found that SPI-WPI treated with 60 MPa had the best physicochemical properties. Secondly, we researched the effect of HPH by 60 MPa on the emulsion properties of SPI-WPI. In this study, the SPI-WPI had the lowest surface tension compared to a single protein after HPH treatment. The emulsion droplet size was obviously decreased, and the elastic properties and physical stability of SPI-WPI emulsion were significantly enhanced. In conclusion, this study will provide a theoretical basis for the application of HPH in modifying the structure of dual-protein to improve its development and utilization in liquid specialty food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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15 pages, 2160 KiB  
Review
Research Progress on New Functions of Animal and Plant Proteins
by Hao Duan, Gaigai Liu, Duo Feng, Zhuoye Wang and Wenjie Yan
Foods 2024, 13(8), 1223; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13081223 - 17 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2060
Abstract
Protein is composed of peptides, essential nutrients for human survival and health, and the easy absorption of peptides further promotes human health. According to the source of the protein, it can be divided into plants, animals, and micro-organisms, which have important physiological effects [...] Read more.
Protein is composed of peptides, essential nutrients for human survival and health, and the easy absorption of peptides further promotes human health. According to the source of the protein, it can be divided into plants, animals, and micro-organisms, which have important physiological effects on the health of the body, especially in enhancing immunity. The most widely used raw materials are animal protein and plant protein, and the protein composition formed by the two in a certain proportion is called “double protein”. In recent years, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has issued an announcement on the “Implementation Rules for the Technical Evaluation of New Functions and Products of Health Foods (Trial)”, which provides application conditions and listing protection for the research and development of new functions of health foods. At present, some researchers and enterprises have begun to pay attention to the potential of animal and plant proteins to be used in new functions. In this article, the research progress of animal and plant proteins in the new functions of Chinese health food is reviewed in detail, and suggestions for future research on animal and plant proteins are put forward. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins from Animals and Plants: Structure, Functionality and Applications)
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