Improvements of plant protein functionalities by Maillard conjugation and Maillard reaction products

Abstract

Plant-derived protein research has gained attention in recent years due to the rise of health concerns, allergenicity, trends toward vegan diet, food safety, and sustainability; but the lower techno-functional attributes of plant proteins compared to those of animals still remain a challenge for their utilization. Maillard conjugation is a protein side-chain modification reaction which is spontaneous, and do not require additional chemical additive to initiate the reaction. The glycoconjugates formed during the reaction significantly improves the thermal stability and pH sensitivity of proteins. The modification of plant-derived protein using Maillard conjugation requires a comprehensive understanding of the influence of process conditions on the conjugation process. These factors can be used to establish a correlation with different functional and bioactive characteristics, to potentially adapt this approach for selective functionality enhancement and nutraceutical development. This review covers recent advances in plant-derived protein modification using Maillard conjugation, including different pretreatments to modify the functionality and bioactivity of plant proteins and their potential uses in practice. An overview of different properties of conjugates and MRPs, including food safety aspects, is given.

Hibiscus, Rooibos, and Yerba Mate for Healthy Aging: A Review on the Attenuation of In Vitro and In Vivo Markers Related to Oxidative Stress, Glycoxidation, and Neurodegeneration

“…Clinical consequences were later discovered in the association between glycation and diabetes progression, cardiovascular implications, and vascular stiffness promotion [ 28 , 29 ]. Besides the spontaneous occurrence of glycation in vivo, thermal processing of foods also promotes the formation of AGEs [ 30 ]. Some dietary AGEs are of great interest to the food industry because of the appealing and sensorial aspects of food, such as flavor, aroma, and color, in addition to increasing the pool of glycation products in vivo [ 31 , 32 ].…”

Current Progress in the Utilization of Soy-Based Emulsifiers in Food Applications—A Review

“…Most of the investigations (Table 1) conducted on Maillard conjugates followed a similar trend that glycated conjugates increased the emulsification ability and emulsion stability. The main advantages of the soy protein-polysaccharide conjugates synthesized by the Maillard reaction include the increased functional characteristic and solubility over a wide range of environments, such as very low pH, and very high ionic strength [33]. In the case of larger molecular weight polysaccharides, the conjugate-stabilized emulsion may have a thicker stabilizing layer than the protein-stabilized ones (Figure 2).…”

Maillard-Type Protein–Polysaccharide Conjugates and Electrostatic Protein–Polysaccharide Complexes as Delivery Vehicles for Food Bioactive Ingredients: Formation, Types, and Applications

“…Covalent protein−polysaccharide conjugation can be formed using enzymatic cross-linking technique (i.e., oxidases and transglutaminase), the chemical cross-linking method (i.e., genipin, glutaraldehyde, and poly(ethylene glycol) dibutyraldehyde), and the Maillard reaction [ 1 ]. The Maillard reaction is one of the most well documented methods for preparing covalent protein–polysaccharide conjugates [ 4 , 5 ]. Different non-covalent interactions are responsible for the formation of protein–polysaccharide complexes depending on the distinct physicochemical properties of these biopolymers and environmental factors, such as electrostatic interactions, hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding, and steric exclusion.…”