The physicochemical and functional characteristics of the major coconut storage protein, 11S globulin or cocosin, were investigated. Cocosin was purified by a combination of salt extraction, selective precipitation, and gel filtration chromatography. The solubility of cocosin at different pH was higher at µ=0.5 than at µ=0.08. The 24 and 21 kDa basic polypeptides of cocosin were more resistant to chymotrypsin digestion than the 35 and 32 kDa acidic polypeptides. Cocosin emulsions were most stable at 0 M NaCl, followed by emulsions in 0.1 M and 0.4 M NaCl. The available SH groups were found to be 21.6 mole SH/mole cocosin. Cocosin was observed to be stable under various pasteurization conditions from 63℃, 30 min to 100℃, 10 sec. However, heating at 100℃ for 10 min and longer degraded cocosin up to 60%. The thermal denaturation midpoint temperature, T m , of the trimeric cocosin was 77.6℃ while that of the hexameric form was 100.5℃.
Legumes are an essential food source worldwide. Their high-quality proteins, complex carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and relatively low-fat content make these an important functional food. Known to possess a multitude of health benefits, legume consumption is associated with the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Legume crude protein isolates and purified peptides possess many cardiopreventive properties. Here, we review selected economically valued legumes, their taxonomy and distribution, biochemical composition, and their protein components and the mechanism(s) of action associated with cardiovascular health. Most of the legume protein studies had shown upregulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor leading to increased binding and uptake, in effect significantly reducing total lipid levels in the blood serum and liver. This is followed by decreased biosynthesis of cholesterol and fatty acids. To understand the relationship of identified genes from legume studies, we performed gene network analysis, pathway, and gene ontology (GO) enrichment. Results showed that the genes were functionally interrelated while enrichment and pathway analysis revealed involvement in lipid transport, fatty acid and triglyceride metabolic processes, and regulatory processes. This review is the first attempt to collate all known mechanisms of action of legume proteins associated with cardiovascular health. This also provides a snapshot of possible targets leading to systems-level approaches to further investigate the cardiometabolic potentials of legumes.
The hypocholesterolemic peptide, LPYPR, was successfully introduced into the VR-1, VR-2, and VR-5 regions of the mung bean 8Sα globulin. The mutant protein (MP) has 96.69% structural homology and 97% sequence homology compared to the wild type (WT). Expression of the mutant protein in E. coli HMS174(DE3) was 40.66%, which was 144.42% higher than that of the WT. The WT protein and MP had MWs of about 48.4 and 48.7 kDa, respectively. These were purified using HIC and digested with trypsin. UPLC analysis of the tryptic digests of the MP revealed the successful release of the LPYPR peptide. Unlike the WT protein, cholesterol-binding capacity (mg/g sample) of the MP increased over time of tryptic digestion (average growth rate of 9.5% for crude MP and 12.5% for HIC-purified MP) for its undigested form (crude: 220.96 ± 8.65, purified: 214.71 ± 11.91), with maximum values of 380.76 ± 6.61 and 434.44 ± 10.88 were obtained for the 24-h digests of the crude and purified proteins, respectively. Similarly, the sodium taurocholate binding capacity (%) was also found to increase over time of tryptic digestion (average growth rate of 4% for crude MP and 5.67% for HIC-purified MP) for the tryptic digests of the MP. Minimum values for % bound sodium taurocholate was obtained with the undigested samples (crude: 46.71 ± 0.42, purified: 44.49 ± 0.13), while maximum values thereof were obtained with the 24-h digest samples (crude: 59.75 ± 0.30, purified 61.95 ± 0.51).
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