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Food Proteins: Nutritional Properties, Allergenicity, and Functional Properties

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 October 2024 | Viewed by 7473

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Xuli Wu

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Guest Editor

Health Science Center, School of Public Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Interests: food allergy; structure-function relationship in food protein; polyphenols; peptide

Dr. Lan Liao

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Guest Editor

Guangdong Key Laboratory of Intelligent Food Manufacturing, Foshan University, Foshan 528225, China
Interests: cereal protein; food allergy; bionanocomposite materials; protein modification and its formation of nanostructure

Prof. Dr. Jin Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, School of Public Health, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, China
Interests: food allergy; protein structure analysis; novel food processing techniques; nutrition and human health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food proteins in the human diet vary in nutritional properties, allergenicity, and functional properties depending on their source, molecular make-up, structures and modification during food manufacture. Different protein modification methods affect the physicochemical properties of food proteins in various ways, which in turn affect their nutritional properties, allergenicity, and functional properties. This topic has attracted much research and development interest. In-depth research on novel processing methods for improving the nutritional and functional properties of food proteins and reducing their allergenicity is still needed, which is beneficial to food quality and safety. This Special Issue is looking for high-quality research articles and reviews that focus on the above-mentioned topics.

Prof. Dr. Xuli Wu
Dr. Lan Liao
Prof. Dr. Jin Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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

proteins
nutritional properties
allergenicity
functional properties
processing
structure
protein modification
digestibility
food allergy

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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12 pages, 6055 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transglutaminase-Cross-Linked Tofu Suppressed Soybean-Induced Allergic Reactions by Enhancing Intestinal Mucosa Immune Tolerance

by Jing Bai, Yiling Zhou, Xinlei Xia, Zhihua Wu, Xin Li, Ping Tong, Anshu Yang and Hongbing Chen

Foods 2024, 13(8), 1206; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13081206 - 16 Apr 2024

Viewed by 506

Abstract

Currently, food allergies are closely related to intestinal health, and ensuring the integrity and health of intestinal mucosa could reduce the incidence of food allergies. In this study, a soybean-allergic mouse model was used to explore the mechanism of intestinal mucosa immune response induced by enzyme-cross-linked tofu. The effects of enzyme-cross-linked tofu on intestinal mucosal immunity in mice were determined by hematoxylin–eosin (HE) staining and flow cytometry. Our results reveled that the MTG-cross-linked tofu reduced the reactivity of the intestinal mucosal immune system, which mainly manifested as a decrease in the dendritic cell (DC) levels of mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), increasing the Th1 cells and Tregs in Peyer’s patch (PP) nodes and MLNs, and inhibiting the Th2 cells. Compared with soy protein, enzyme-cross-linked tofu had less damage to the small intestinal tract of mice. Therefore, the above-mentioned results fully revealed that the enzyme-cross-linked tofu promoted the transformation of intestinal mucosal immune cells, shifted the Th1/Th2 balance toward Th1, and reduced its sensitization effect. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins: Nutritional Properties, Allergenicity, and Functional Properties)

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17 pages, 3444 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Supercritical CO₂ Treatment to Modify Techno-Functional Properties of Proteins Extracted from Tomato Seeds

by Paola Mateo-Roque, Jocksan I. Morales-Camacho, Guadalupe Janet Jara-Romero, Flor de Fátima Rosas-Cárdenas, Luis Huerta-González and Silvia Luna-Suárez

Foods 2024, 13(7), 1045; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13071045 - 28 Mar 2024

Viewed by 748

Abstract

Tomato seeds are a rich source of protein that can be utilized for various industrial food purposes. This study delves into the effects of using supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) on the structure and techno-functional properties of proteins extracted from defatted tomato seeds. The defatted meal was obtained using hexane (TSMH) and scCO₂ (TSMC), and proteins were extracted using water (PEWH and PEWC) and saline solution (PESH and PESC). The results showed that scCO₂ treatment significantly improved the techno-functional properties of protein extracts, such as oil-holding capacity and foaming capacity (especially for PEWC). Moreover, emulsifying capacity and stability were enhanced for PEWC and PESC, ranging between 4.8 and 46.7% and 11.3 and 96.3%, respectively. This was made possible by the changes in helix structure content induced by scCO₂ treatment, which increased for PEWC (5.2%) and decreased for PESC (8.0%). Additionally, 2D electrophoresis revealed that scCO₂ hydrolyzed alkaline proteins in the extracts. These findings demonstrate the potential of scCO₂ treatment in producing modified proteins for food applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins: Nutritional Properties, Allergenicity, and Functional Properties)

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22 pages, 8549 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Insights into the Mechanism Underlying the Influence of Glycation with Different Saccharides and Temperatures on the IgG/IgE Binding Ability, Immunodetection, In Vitro Digestibility of Shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) Tropomyosin

by Jinlong Zhao, Jin Wang, Lili Xu, Hao Wang, Ziye Zhang, Hong Lin and Zhenxing Li

Foods 2023, 12(16), 3049; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12163049 - 14 Aug 2023

Viewed by 1034

Abstract

Tropomyosin (TM) is a heat-stable protein that plays a crucial role as a major pan-allergen in crustacean shellfish. Despite the high thermal stability of the TM structure, its IgG/IgE binding ability, immunodetection, and in vitro digestibility can be negatively influenced by glycation during food processing, and the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, TM was subjected to glycosylation using various sugars and temperatures. The resulting effects on IgG/IgE-binding capacity, immunodetection, and in vitro digestibility were analyzed, meanwhile, the structural alterations and modifications using spectroscopic and LC-MS/MS analysis were determined. Obtained results suggested that the IgG/IgE binding capacity of glycosylated TM, immunodetection recovery, and in vitro digestibility were significantly reduced depending on the degree of glycosylation, with the greatest reduction occurring in Rib-TM. These changes may be attributable to structural alterations and modifications that occur during glycosylation processing, which could mask or shield antigenic epitopes of TM (E3: 61–81, E5b: 142–162, and E5c: 157–183), subsequently reducing the immunodetection recognition and digestive enzyme degradation. Overall, these findings shed light on the detrimental impact of glycation on TMs potential allergenicity and digestibility immunodetection and provide insights into the structural changes and modifications induced by thermal processing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins: Nutritional Properties, Allergenicity, and Functional Properties)

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Review

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25 pages, 3408 KiB

Open AccessReview

The Role of Gluten in Food Products and Dietary Restriction: Exploring the Potential for Restoring Immune Tolerance

by Li Ye, Wenyu Zheng, Xue Li, Wenmin Han, Jialing Shen, Qiuya Lin, Liyan Hou, Lan Liao and Xin’an Zeng

Foods 2023, 12(22), 4179; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224179 - 20 Nov 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1514

Abstract

Wheat is extensively utilized in various processed foods due to unique proteins forming from the gluten network. The gluten network in food undergoes morphological and molecular structural changes during food processing, affecting the final quality and digestibility of the food. The present review introduces the formation of the gluten network and the role of gluten in the key steps of the production of several typical food products such as bread, pasta, and beer. Also, it summarizes the factors that affect the digestibility of gluten, considering that different processing conditions probably affect its structure and properties, contributing to an in-depth understanding of the digestion of gluten by the human body under various circumstances. Nevertheless, consumption of gluten protein may lead to the development of celiac disease (CD). The best way is theoretically proposed to prevent and treat CD by the inducement of oral tolerance, an immune non-response system formed by the interaction of oral food antigens with the intestinal immune system. This review proposes the restoration of oral tolerance in CD patients through adjunctive dietary therapy via gluten-encapsulated/modified dietary polyphenols. It will reduce the dietary restriction of gluten and help patients achieve a comprehensive dietary intake by better understanding the interactions between gluten and food-derived active products like polyphenols. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins: Nutritional Properties, Allergenicity, and Functional Properties)

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22 pages, 1384 KiB

Open AccessReview

Influence of Lifestyle and Dietary Habits on the Prevalence of Food Allergies: A Scoping Review

by Gardiner Henric Rennie, Jinlong Zhao, Mukeshimana Camus-Ela, Jialu Shi, Lan Jiang, Lili Zhang, Jin Wang and Vijaya Raghavan

Foods 2023, 12(17), 3290; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12173290 - 01 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2632

Abstract

Changes in behavior, lifestyle, and nutritional patterns have influenced many potential risk variables globally. In recent decades, food allergies (FAs) have been elevated to a severe public health issue both in developed countries and developing countries (third-world countries). This study aims to evaluate the effects caused by certain factors such as lifestyle and dietary habits on food allergies, review the association of lifestyle and dietary habit status with FAs, and outline why more people are allergic to food sources as a result of lifestyle changes and dietary habits. We searched electronic international databases including Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science using combinations of keywords. Utilizing Excel, the relevant studies were included and the irrelevant studies were excluded, and Mendeley was used for referencing and also to remove duplicates. The framework proposed by Arksey and O’Malley was used for this scoping review. The papers published in the databases from 2016 to 2020 were extracted. A total of eight studies were extracted, and this scoping review was carried out according to the risk factors. In our review, we found that some lifestyle choices (Caesarean section and antibiotics) and dietary habits (n-3 PUFA, fast food, duration of dietary intervention, and vitamin D), were important contributing factors for FA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Proteins: Nutritional Properties, Allergenicity, and Functional Properties)

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