Plant Proteins: Functions in Disease Prevention and Treatment

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 August 2025 | Viewed by 560

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China
2. College of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
3. Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Edible and Medicinal Resources Exploitation, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: structured lipids; immobilized lipase; plant protein; functional foods; bioactive compounds; agricultural by-products; food preservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Resources, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330047, China
2. College of Food Science and Technology, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
3. Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Edible and Medicinal Resources Exploitation, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Interests: plant proteins; protein-phenolic interactions; protein hydrolysates; techno-functional properties; food processing

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Food Science and Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Interests: plant proteins; protein-phenolic interactions; protein hydrolysates; techno-functional properties; food processing

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Guest Editor Assistant
School of Food Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China
Interests: emulsion gels; plant proteins; polysaccharide; protein-polysaccharide interactions; food processing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Plant proteins play a crucial role in promoting health and preventing disease, offering a sustainable and nutritionally rich alternative to animal-based proteins. They are abundant in essential amino acids, bioactive peptides, and functional components that can modulate various physiological pathways. Studies have shown that plant proteins, such as those derived from soy, pea, and buckwheat, exhibit antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering properties, which contribute to reducing the risk of chronic diseases like cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Furthermore, plant proteins often interact with bioactive compounds such as polyphenols, enhancing their stability and bioactivity, thereby amplifying their protective effects against oxidative stress and inflammation. Emerging research highlights their potential in managing gut health, modulating microbiota diversity, and even targeting specific conditions such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. As a versatile and eco-friendly option, plant proteins hold great promise in advancing functional foods and therapeutic interventions for disease prevention and treatment. Both original research articles and reviews are welcome for submission.

Prof. Dr. Zheling Zeng
Dr. Xianghui Yan
Guest Editors

Dr. Dongze Li
Dr. Xiujie Zhao
Guest Editor Assistants

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Keywords

  • plant proteins
  • disease prevention
  • functional activity
  • antioxidant properties
  • anti-inflammatory effects
  • immune modulation
  • gut microbiota
  • metabolic regulation
  • functional foods
  • dietary interventions

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 9249 KiB  
Article
Bioinformatics-Assisted Discovery of Antioxidant Cyclic Peptides from Corn Gluten Meal
by Hongcheng Liu, Tong Sun, He Gao, Xiaolong Liu, Shanshan Zhang, Tingting Liu, Dawei Wang, Hongxiu Fan and Yanrong Zhang
Foods 2025, 14(10), 1709; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14101709 - 12 May 2025
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Abstract
Using a multidisciplinary approach, this paper was designed to prepare, identify, and characterize novel maize antioxidant cyclic peptides from protein hydrolysate of corn gluten meal (CGM). A bioinformatics approach was used to identify the best protease, and the results showed that papain+subtilisin was [...] Read more.
Using a multidisciplinary approach, this paper was designed to prepare, identify, and characterize novel maize antioxidant cyclic peptides from protein hydrolysate of corn gluten meal (CGM). A bioinformatics approach was used to identify the best protease, and the results showed that papain+subtilisin was most likely to produce antioxidant cyclic peptides. The result of the enzymatic hydrolysis validation experiment showed that hydrolysate by papain+subtilisin yielded the highest concentration of cyclic peptide (67.14 ± 1.88%) and remarkable DPPH, ABTS, and hydroxyl radical scavenging rates (81.06 ± 2.23%, 82.82 ± 1.83%, and 47.44 ± 2.43%, respectively) compared to other hydrolysates. Eleven antioxidant cyclic peptides were identified in the protein hydrolysate of CGM through sequential purification and mass spectrometry analysis. The results of molecular docking analysis indicated that the cyclic peptides can form stable hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions with the key amino acid residues of Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1). Cyclic peptides may regulate the Keap1-Nrf2 pathway by occupying the Kelch domain of Keap1, inhibiting the ubiquitination degradation of Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2), thereby stabilizing the Nrf2 protein and activating the antioxidant gene network. This study underlined the bioinformatics approach for antioxidant cyclic peptide discovery, which is time- and cost-effective and promotes new cyclic peptide drugs or functional food development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Plant Proteins: Functions in Disease Prevention and Treatment)
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