Evaluating and Validating the Fluorescent Probe Methodology for Measuring the Effective Hydrophobicity of Protein, Protein Hydrolyzate, and Amino Acid.

The fluorescent probe method with 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid ammonium salt (ANSA) and 6-propionyl-2-(,-dimethylamino) naphthalene (PRODAN) was validated to determine the effective hydrophobicity of the whey protein isolate. The focus was on charge and hydrophobic interactions due to the complexation between the proteins and probes. Using ANSA could overestimate the effective hydrophobicity of positively charged proteins.

New Food Technologies - Addressing Challenges at Food Systems Level.

By 2050, the global population is expected to reach close to 10 billion people, increasing the demand for food. To ensure sustainability in food production to meet this population increase, alternative approaches such as reducing meat consumption and incorporating plant-based alternatives are being explored. Cellular agriculture, an interdisciplinary field merging engineering and biology offers a potential solution.

Protein-phenolic interactions and reactions: Discrepancies, challenges, and opportunities.

Although noncovalent interactions and covalent reactions between phenolic compounds and proteins have been investigated across diverse scientific disciplines, a comprehensive understanding and identification of their products remain elusive. This review will initially outline the chemical framework and, subsequently, delve into unresolved or debated chemical and functional food-related implications, as well as forthcoming challenges in this topic. The primary objective is to elucidate the multiple aspects of protein-phenolic interactions and reactions, along with the underlying overwhelming dynamics and possibilities of follow-up reactions and potential crosslinking between proteins and phenolic compounds.

Laying the foundations for a theory of consciousness: the significance of critical brain dynamics for the formation of conscious states.

Empirical evidence indicates that conscious states, distinguished by the presence of phenomenal qualities, are closely linked to synchronized neural activity patterns whose dynamical characteristics can be attributed to self-organized criticality and phase transitions. These findings imply that insight into the mechanism by which the brain controls phase transitions will provide a deeper understanding of the fundamental mechanism by which the brain manages to transcend the threshold of consciousness. This article aims to show that the initiation of phase transitions and the formation of synchronized activity patterns is due to the coupling of the brain to the zero-point field (ZPF), which plays a central role in quantum electrodynamics (QED).

In vitro digestibility and solubility of phosphorus of three plant-based meat analogues.

Interest in plant-based meat analogues has increased and can be expected to be applied to pet foods, which necessitates the understanding of the nutrient supply in those foods. Our primary aim was to advance our understanding of the digestive properties of sterilized plant-based meat analogues. The impact of the preparatory processing steps on the solubility of meat analogues was studied.

Food proteins from yeast-based precision fermentation: Simple purification of recombinant β-lactoglobulin using polyphosphate.

Proteins produced through precision fermentation are often purified through chromatographic methods. Faster and more cost-effective purification methods are desired for food application. Here, we present a simple method for purification of protein produced from yeast, using β-lactoglobulin secreted from Pichia pastoris as an example.

Engineering artificial casein micelles for future food: Is casein phosphorylation necessary?

Industrial-scale production of recombinant proteins for food products may become economically feasible but correct post-translational modification of proteins by microbial expression systems remains a challenge. For efficient production of hybrid products from bovine casein and recombinant casein, it is therefore of interest to evaluate the necessity of casein post-translational phosphorylation for the preparation of hybrid casein micelles and study their rennet-induced coagulation. Our results show that dephosphorylated casein was hardly incorporated into artificial casein micelles but was capable of stabilising calcium phosphate nanoclusters with an increased size through adsorption on their surface.

UVB pretreatment of β-lactoglobulin affects the temperature-induced formation of functional amyloid-like aggregates and promotes oxidative degradation.

Unfolding in combination with or without acid hydrolysis is crucial for the formation of functional amyloid (fibrillar) or amyloid-like (worm-like) β-lactoglobulin (BLG) aggregates, which can be induced through temperature treatment for several hours at pH 2-4. A preceding conformational destabilization of BLG might affect its aggregation. We investigated ultraviolet (UV) B radiation as conformational perturbing treatment to facilitate temperature-induced protein aggregation.

Modification and oxidative degradation of β-lactoglobulin by UVB irradiation.

Ultraviolet (UV) B irradiation induces protein modification, especially the conformational rearrangement of proteins, and is therefore promising as a non-thermal and non-chemical functionalization technique. Nevertheless, UVB irradiation introduces radicals and oxidizes side chains resulting in the loss of food quality. Thus, assessing the UVB irradiation-based functionalization of β-lactoglobulin (BLG) versus its oxidative degradation is of interest.

Trends and prospects in dairy protein replacement in yogurt and cheese.

There is a growing demand for nutritional, functional, and eco-friendly dairy products, which has increased the need for research regarding alternative and sustainable protein sources. Plant-based, single-cell (SCP), and recombinant proteins are being explored as alternatives to dairy proteins. Plant-Based Proteins (PBPs) are commonly used to replace total dairy protein.

Unraveling the effects of low protein-phenol binding affinity on the structural properties of beta-lactoglobulin.

Non-covalent interactions of phenolics with proteins cannot always be readily identified, often leading to contradictory results described in the literature. This results in uncertainties as to what extent phenolics can be added to protein solutions (for example for bioactivity studies) without affecting the protein structure. Here, we clarify which tea phenolics (epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epicatechin and gallic acid) interact with the whey protein β-lactoglobulin by combining various state-of-the-art-methods.

Amyloid-like aggregation of recombinant β-lactoglobulin at pH 3.5 and 7.0: Is disulfide bond removal the key to fibrillation?

Functional nanofibrils from globular proteins are usually formed by heating for several hours at pH 2.0, which induces acidic hydrolysis and consecutive self-association. The functional properties of these micro-metre-long anisotropic structures are promising for biodegradable biomaterials and food applications, but their stability at pH > 2.

Lipid oxidation induced protein scission in an oleogel as a model food.

Lipid oxidation induced protein scission was investigated in oleogel using beta-lactoglobulin (whey protein isolate) as gelator. Extracted cleaved peptides were measured using high resolution mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), which was provided by an automatically generated annotation list approach to identify relevant masses and sum formula using the isotopic pattern. The identified oxidized peptides were then further evaluated using partial least squares regression to relevant lipid hydroperoxide formation data, which provide the significance and importance of the peptides toward lipid induced scission.

A novel screening method for free non-standard amino acids in human plasma samples using AccQ·Tag reagents and LC-MS/MS.

There are at least 500 naturally occurring amino acids, of which only 20 standard proteinogenic amino acids are used universally across all organisms in the synthesis of peptides and proteins. Non-standard amino acids can be incorporated into proteins or are intermediates and products of metabolic pathways. While the analysis of standard amino acids is well-defined, the analysis of non-standard amino acids can be challenging due to the wide range of physicochemical properties, and the lack of both reference standards and information in curated databases to aid compound identification.

Determination of specific and non-specific protein-protein interactions for beta-lactoglobulin by analytical ultracentrifugation and membrane osmometry experiments.

Protein-protein interactions are essential for the understanding of biological processes. Specific protein aggregation is an important aspect for many biological systems. In particular, electrostatic interactions play the key role for protein-protein interactions, as many amino acids have pH-dependent charge states.

N,N-dimethyltryptamine and Amazonian ayahuasca plant medicine.

Objective: Reports have indicated possible uses of ayahuasca for the treatment of conditions including depression, addictions, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and specific psychoneuroendocrine immune system pathologies. The article assesses potential ayahuasca and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) integration with contemporary healthcare. The review also seeks to provide a summary of selected literature regarding the mechanisms of action of DMT and ayahuasca; and assess to what extent the state of research can explain reports of unusual phenomenology.

Building Blocks for the Development of a Self-Consistent Electromagnetic Field Theory of Consciousness.

The goal of this work is to compile the basic components for the construction of an electromagnetic field theory of consciousness that meets the standards of a fundamental theory. An essential cornerstone of the conceptual framework is the vacuum state of quantum electrodynamics which, contrary to the classical notion of the vacuum, can be viewed as a vibrant ocean of energy, termed zero-point field (ZPF). Being the fundamental substrate mediating the electromagnetic force, the ubiquitous ZPF constitutes the ultimate bedrock of all electromagnetic phenomena.

Characteristics of Soy Protein Prepared Using an Aqueous Ethanol Washing Process.

Currently, the predominant process for soy protein concentrate (SPC) production is aqueous ethanol washing of hexane-extracted soy meal. However, the use of hexane is less desired, which explains the increased interest in cold pressing for oil removal. In this study, cold-pressed soy meal was used as the starting material, and a range of water/ethanol ratios was applied for the washing process to produce SPCs.

Removal of phenolic compounds from de-oiled sunflower kernels by aqueous ethanol washing.

Selective removal of phenolic compounds (PCs) from de-oiled sunflower kernel is generally considered a key step for food applications, but this often leads to protein loss. PC removal yield and protein loss were assessed during an aqueous or aqueous ethanol washing process with different temperatures, pH-values and ethanol contents. PC yield and protein loss increased when the ethanol content was < 60% or when a higher temperature was applied.

Protein acidification and hydrolysis by pepsin ensure efficient trypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis.

Enzyme-catalysed hydrolysis is important in protein digestion. Protein hydrolysis is initiated by pepsin at low pH in the stomach. However, pepsin action and acidification happen simultaneously to gastric emptying, especially for liquid meals.

Functionality of Ingredients and Additives in Plant-Based Meat Analogues.

Meat analogue research and development focuses on the production of sustainable products that recreate conventional meat in its physical sensations (texture, appearance, taste, etc.) and nutritional aspects. Minced products, like burger patties and nuggets, muscle-type products, like chicken or steak-like cuts, and emulsion products, like Frankfurter and Mortadella type sausages, are the major categories of meat analogues.

Alternatives to Meat and Dairy.

The increasing size and affluence of the global population have led to a rising demand for high-protein foods such as dairy and meat. Because it will be impossible to supply sufficient protein to everyone solely with dairy and meat, we need to transition at least part of our diets toward protein foods that are more sustainable to produce. The best way to convince consumers to make this transition is to offer products that easily fit into their current habits and diets by mimicking the original foods.

MAPPinfo, mapping quality of health information: study protocol for a validation study of an assessment instrument.

Introduction: Health information is a prerequisite of informed decision-making. Criteria for development, content and presentation have recently been published in a corresponding guideline. Within a systematic search, 27 relevant checklists were identified, none of them, however, complying with the guideline or providing reasonably operationalised measurement items.