Food Proteins and Bioactive Peptides: Novel Sources, Characteristic and Application
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 (10 May 2024) | Viewed by 20637
Special Issue Editors
Interests: protein chemistry; proteomics; milk protein; plant protein
Interests: dairy science and technology; UHT processing and products; whey proteins; thermal and nonthermal processing; new product development
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The world population is predicted to reach 9.7 billion people by 2050 with the expectation of a high demand in protein consumption. Protein is an important nutrient in the body’s growth and biological functions for which the bioactive peptides derived from the protein often possess higher bioactivity, e.g., antioxidant, antihypertensive, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, than the parent protein. Protein also plays a critical role in maintaining the functional properties of food products e.g., emulsifying, foaming, and water-binding. Traditionally, proteins originated from animal sources such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs and milk have been the main proteins in human diets. This trend has shifted towards plant-based proteins which have emerged as an acceptable alternative protein source for human consumption. Plant protein is viewed as a natural, eco-friendly, and sustainable food source, but can also contribute health benefits such as weight loss, satiety and lowered glycaemic index. For these reasons, there is renewed interest in plant protein as a food ingredient, complementing and, in some cases, replacing animal-based protein. However, plant proteins often lack one or more essential amino acids which the human body requires for protein biosynthesis. In addition, the poor functional properties of some plant proteins e.g., solubility and water-holding capacity, make them difficult to apply in many food applications regardless of their high fibre and antioxidant content. Animal-based protein on the other hand maintains a vital part in the food market due to its high essential amino acid content, biological value and functional properties, despite some adverse health claims e.g., risk of bowel cancer and dairy allergies. Adequate nutrition can be achieved with pure plant-based diets, however, with greater awareness in choosing plant types (e.g., combined cereal and pulses), especially for those who are allergic or sensitive to some plant proteins (e.g., vicilin and legumin in soybeans, peanuts, and tree nuts). This Special Issue is to highlight novel protein sources on the market as well as approaches to improve the properties and nutritional qualities such as digestibility and bioactivity of the present and new protein sources. Also, combining plant and animal proteins has potential to be a future protein consumption trend. In addition, challenges occurring in plant protein production and utilisation of plant protein in food applications are expected to be addressed in this Special Issue.
Dr. Thao Le
Prof. Dr. Hilton Deeth
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- bioactive peptides
- plant-based proteins
- animal-based proteins
- nutritional quality
- functional properties
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