Electric field effects on proteins – Novel perspectives on food and potential health implications

Abstract

Electric fields (EF) technologies have been establishing a solid position in emergent food processing and have seen as serious alternatives to traditional thermal processing. During the last decades, research has been devoted to elucidation of technological and safety issues but also fundamental aspects related with interaction of electric fields (EF) with important macromolecules, such as proteins. Proteins are building blocks for the development of functional networks that can encompass health benefits (i.e. nutritional and bioactive properties) but may be also linked with adverse effects such as neurodegenerative diseases (amyloid fibrils) and immunological responses. The biological function of a protein depends on its tridimensional structure/conformation, and latest research evidences that EF can promote disturbances on protein conformation, change their unfolding mechanisms, aggregation and interaction patterns. This review aims at bringing together these recent findings as well as providing novel perspectives about how EF can shape the behavior of proteins towards the development of innovative foods, aiming at consumers' health and wellbeing.

Effect of processing technologies on the digestibility of egg proteins

“…Pulsed electric field PEF is an emerging nonthermal technology that uses electric field pulses of shorter duration, ranging from milliseconds to nanoseconds, to induce several effects in the food matrices (Bhat et al, 2018b(Bhat et al, , 2018c(Bhat et al, , 2019d. Most of the PEF effects are the outcome of its potential to induce electroporation in cellular membranes or its capability to affect the structural and functional properties of food macromolecules including egg proteins (Bhat, 2019;Bhat et al, 2019d;Farjami et al, 2020;Rodrigues et al, 2020). When protein molecules with heterogeneous charge distributions are exposed to an electric field, it causes a gradual stretching or deformation of the protein molecule along the axis of the applied electric field (Freedman, Jürgensÿ et al, 2011, 2013.…”

“…Egg proteins undergo several modifications and transformations during processing and cooking steps, which can affect their functional and nutritional properties (Rodrigues et al, 2020;Zhu et al, 2018aZhu et al, , 2018b. The main objectives of these processing steps are to stabilize egg and egg products, to inactivate microbes and enzymes, and to stabilize/improve nutritional, nutraceutical, and sensorial attributes (Aryee et al, 2018;Vanga et al, 2017).…”

“…The effects of processing on the quality of food products including egg and egg products have received much attention in the last couple of decades and has led to the development of new technologies or improved processing strategies (Jia et al, 2019). Several nonthermal processing technologies, such as PEF, HPP, ultrasound, or thermal processing, such as microwave and pasteurization, gained attention due to their potential to improve functionality and quality of egg proteins (Farjami et al, 2020;Rodrigues et al, 2020;Zhu et al, 2018a). These processing technologies mediate the egg functionality and quality through structural transformations and by inducing modifications in the microstructure or structural properties of egg proteins, which can affect their digestion behavior within the gastrointestinal tract and influence their digestibility.…”

Emergent Proteins-Based Structures—Prospects towards Sustainable Nutrition and Functionality

“…OH offers also an opportunity to interact with protein structure through three different ways: (i) heating kinetics (through joule effect); (ii) electrical events (e.g., electrostatic and polarity disturbances); and (iii) occurrence of electrochemical events (e.g., electrolysis). Through these different pathways it is possible to tune protein unfolding and denaturation aiming intended applications [77,78]. One promising field of application of electric field effects is the tailoring the production of protein nano-and microstructures in a way that encapsulates bioactive compounds for an intended functional delivery.…”

Electromagnetic bioeffects: a multiscale molecular simulation perspective

“…42 In general, these applications operate through the formation of nanoscale defects in the cell membrane (electroporation) that are within the timescale of current modelling capabilities. There has also been substantial interest in the effects of static and time-varying EFs on protein conformation, 3–8,46–54 as the formation of insoluble aggregates (amyloid fibrils) are thought to contribute to the onset of various neurodegenerative diseases ( e.g. Parkinson's and Alzheimer's).…”