Novel approach to binary protein construction via pulsed electric field-induced unfolding: Comprehensive enhancement of chickpea protein properties

IF 11 1区农林科学 Q1 CHEMISTRY, APPLIED

Food Hydrocolloids Pub Date : 2025-09-13 DOI:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111983

Yongxin Teng , Xindong Xu , Boru Chen , Rui Wang , Ting Zhang , Xiangwei Zhu , Yonghui Li , Zhong Han , Xin-An Zeng

{"title":"Novel approach to binary protein construction via pulsed electric field-induced unfolding: Comprehensive enhancement of chickpea protein properties","authors":"Yongxin Teng , Xindong Xu , Boru Chen , Rui Wang , Ting Zhang , Xiangwei Zhu , Yonghui Li , Zhong Han , Xin-An Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.foodhyd.2025.111983","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developing functional, nutritionally rich plant-based protein resources is crucial for global food production. Here, we present a novel physical strategy to construct high-performance binary proteins by utilizing pulsed electric fields (PEF) to induce protein unfolding and subsequent co-folding. Under optimized conditions (30 kV/cm; chickpea protein (CP): bovine serum albumin (BSA) ratio 1:0.1, w/w), the resulting binary complex (C/B-P) exhibited a 228.3 % increase in solubility relative to native CP, accompanied by a significant reduction in aggregation. Multi-scale structural analyses and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that PEF treatment unfolded the rigid CP structure, exposing an internal hydrophobic cavity (radius increased by 52 %). This newly accessible cavity serves as a high-affinity binding site (binding energy: −69.3 kcal/mol) for BSA, which stabilizes the unfolded state through co-folding. Consequently, C/B-P demonstrated superior functional properties, with foaming capacity soaring from 10 % to 90 % and markedly improved emulsion stability. Nutritionally, C/B-P possesses a complete amino acid profile, meeting FAO/WHO recommendations for both adults and preschool children. This PEF-based strategy not only effectively enhances CP's properties but also provides a powerful, rapid, and chemical-free paradigm for designing next-generation high-performance plant proteins for food applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":320,"journal":{"name":"Food Hydrocolloids","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 111983"},"PeriodicalIF":11.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Food Hydrocolloids","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0268005X25009439","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, APPLIED","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Developing functional, nutritionally rich plant-based protein resources is crucial for global food production. Here, we present a novel physical strategy to construct high-performance binary proteins by utilizing pulsed electric fields (PEF) to induce protein unfolding and subsequent co-folding. Under optimized conditions (30 kV/cm; chickpea protein (CP): bovine serum albumin (BSA) ratio 1:0.1, w/w), the resulting binary complex (C/B-P) exhibited a 228.3 % increase in solubility relative to native CP, accompanied by a significant reduction in aggregation. Multi-scale structural analyses and molecular dynamics simulations confirmed that PEF treatment unfolded the rigid CP structure, exposing an internal hydrophobic cavity (radius increased by 52 %). This newly accessible cavity serves as a high-affinity binding site (binding energy: −69.3 kcal/mol) for BSA, which stabilizes the unfolded state through co-folding. Consequently, C/B-P demonstrated superior functional properties, with foaming capacity soaring from 10 % to 90 % and markedly improved emulsion stability. Nutritionally, C/B-P possesses a complete amino acid profile, meeting FAO/WHO recommendations for both adults and preschool children. This PEF-based strategy not only effectively enhances CP's properties but also provides a powerful, rapid, and chemical-free paradigm for designing next-generation high-performance plant proteins for food applications.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

脉冲电场诱导展开二元蛋白构建的新方法：鹰嘴豆蛋白性质的全面增强

开发功能性、营养丰富的植物性蛋白质资源对全球粮食生产至关重要。在这里，我们提出了一种新的物理策略，利用脉冲电场（PEF）诱导蛋白质展开和随后的共折叠来构建高性能的二元蛋白质。在最佳条件下（30 kV/cm，鹰嘴豆蛋白（CP）：牛血清白蛋白（BSA）比1:0.1,w/w），得到的二元复合物（C/B-P）的溶解度比天然CP提高了228.3%，同时聚集性显著降低。多尺度结构分析和分子动力学模拟证实，PEF处理打开了刚性CP结构，暴露出内部疏水腔（半径增加了52%）。这个新的可接近的空腔作为BSA的高亲和力结合位点（结合能：−69.3 kcal/mol），通过共折叠稳定了未折叠状态。因此，C/B-P表现出优异的功能性能，起泡率从10%提高到90%，显著提高了乳液稳定性。在营养方面，C/B-P具有完整的氨基酸谱，符合粮农组织/世卫组织对成人和学龄前儿童的建议。这种基于pef的策略不仅有效地提高了CP的性能，而且为设计用于食品应用的下一代高性能植物蛋白提供了一个强大、快速和无化学成分的范例。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Food Hydrocolloids 工程技术-食品科技

CiteScore

19.90

自引率

14.00%

发文量

871

审稿时长

37 days

期刊介绍： Food Hydrocolloids publishes original and innovative research focused on the characterization, functional properties, and applications of hydrocolloid materials used in food products. These hydrocolloids, defined as polysaccharides and proteins of commercial importance, are added to control aspects such as texture, stability, rheology, and sensory properties. The research's primary emphasis should be on the hydrocolloids themselves, with thorough descriptions of their source, nature, and physicochemical characteristics. Manuscripts are expected to clearly outline specific aims and objectives, include a fundamental discussion of research findings at the molecular level, and address the significance of the results. Studies on hydrocolloids in complex formulations should concentrate on their overall properties and mechanisms of action, while simple formulation development studies may not be considered for publication. The main areas of interest are: -Chemical and physicochemical characterisation Thermal properties including glass transitions and conformational changes- Rheological properties including viscosity, viscoelastic properties and gelation behaviour- The influence on organoleptic properties- Interfacial properties including stabilisation of dispersions, emulsions and foams- Film forming properties with application to edible films and active packaging- Encapsulation and controlled release of active compounds- The influence on health including their role as dietary fibre- Manipulation of hydrocolloid structure and functionality through chemical, biochemical and physical processes- New hydrocolloids and hydrocolloid sources of commercial potential. The Journal also publishes Review articles that provide an overview of the latest developments in topics of specific interest to researchers in this field of activity.