Increasingly, consumers are moving towards a more plant-based diet. However, some consumers are avoiding common plant proteins such as soy and gluten due to their potential allergenicity. Therefore, alternative protein sources are being explored as functional ingredients in foods, including pea, chickpea, and other legume proteins. The factors affecting the functional performance of plant proteins are outlined, including cultivars, genotypes, extraction and drying methods, protein level, and preparation methods (commercial versus laboratory). Current methods to characterize protein functionality are highlighted, including water and oil holding capacity, protein solubility, emulsifying, foaming, and gelling properties. We propose a series of analytical tests to better predict plant protein performance in foods. Representative applications are discussed to demonstrate how the functional attributes of plant proteins affect the physicochemical properties of plant-based foods. Increasing the protein content of plant protein ingredients enhances their water and oil holding capacity and foaming stability. Industrially produced plant proteins often have lower solubility and worse functionality than laboratory-produced ones due to protein denaturation and aggregation during commercial isolation processes. To better predict the functional performance of plant proteins, it would be useful to use computer modeling approaches, such as quantitative structural activity relationships (QSAR).
Curcumin exhibits efficient antimicrobial activity; nevertheless, its effect on the postharvest decay of fruit has not been examined. Here, effects of curcumin on the fruit gray mold of kiwifruit infected by Botrytis cinerea were analyzed. Results demonstrated that curcumin induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and triggered apoptosis in B. cinerea hyphae. Use of N-acetylcysteine, a ROS scavenger, partially ameliorated the inhibition of curcumin on B. cinerea. The NADPH oxidase inhibitor, diphenyleneiodonium chlorine, abrogated the ROS production induced by curcumin, suggesting that curcumin induces oxidative stress in B. cinerea via a NADPH-oxidase-dependent mechanism. Disease severity of gray mold in curcumintreated kiwifruit was significantly reduced. The malondialdehyde content decreased while the antioxidant enzyme activity increased in kiwifruit with the application of increasing concentrations of curcumin. Collectively, these results indicate that curcumin can be used to control gray mold and elevate antioxidant activity in kiwifruit.
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