New molecular features of cowpea bean (Vigna unguiculata, l. Walp) β-vignin.

Cowpea seed β-vignin, a vicilin-like globulin, proved to exert various health favourable effects, including blood cholesterol reduction in animal models. The need of a simple scalable enrichment procedure for further studies for tailored applications of this seed protein is crucial. A chromatography-independent fractionation method allowing to obtain a protein preparation with a high degree of homogeneity was used.

In vitro versus in vivo protein digestibility techniques for calculating PDCAAS (protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score) applied to chickpea fractions.

Seven different in vitro methods to determine the protein digestibility for chickpea proteins were considered and also the application of these methodologies for calculating PDCAAS (protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score), seeking their correlations with the in vivo methodology. In vitro digestibility of raw and heated samples were determined using pepsin-pancreatin hydrolysis, considering soluble nitrogen via Kjeldahl (ppKJ) and hydrolysed peptide linkages using trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid and o-phthaldialdehyde. In vitro digestibility was also determined using trypsin, chymotrypsin and peptidase (3-Enz) or trypsin, chymotrypsin, peptidase and pronase solution (4-Enz).

Chemical characteristics and fractionation of proteins from Moringa oleifera Lam. leaves.

Moringa oleifera Lam. is a leguminous plant, originally from Asia, which is cultivated in Brazil because of its low production cost. Although some people have used this plant as food, there is little information about its chemical and nutritional characteristics.

Partial characterization of proteins from baru (Dipteryx alata Vog) seeds.

Background: Baru (Dipteryx alata Vog.) is a fruit distributed throughout the Brazilian savanna and contains a seed with a high protein content, whose properties have been rarely explored. The purpose of this study was to characterize this protein, especially by isolation and quantifying its fractions and measuring some of its molecular properties.

Soy β-conglycinin (7S globulin) reduces plasma and liver cholesterol in rats fed hypercholesterolemic diet.

The aim of this study was to examine the comparative hypocholesterolemic effect of soybean 7S fraction in rats fed a high-cholesterol diet. Soybean 7S globulin (β-conglycinin) was administered orally once a day to rats, and the effects were measured after 28 days. Wistar rats were divided into four groups: standard diet (STD) (casein alone), hypercholesterolemic (HC) diet (STD plus 1 g/100 g cholesterol and 0.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of sweet lupin, chickpea, and lentil 11S globulins decreases their antigenic activity.

We investigated the effects of treatments with the enzymes pepsin and trypsin on the in vitro immunological reactivity of the major globulins found in the seeds of sweet lupin, chickpea, and lentil. Polyclonal major globulin-specific antiserum was obtained by immunization of rabbits with a solution of the 11S globulin of each legume. The globulins were hydrolyzed with pepsin and trypsin for 1, 5, 15, and 30 min.

Nutritional responses of rats to diets based on chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.) seed meal or its protein fractions.

The aim of this study was to isolate the protein fractions from chickpea, var. IAC-Marrocos, as well as to evaluate its in vivo nutritional protein quality. Among the proteins, albumins showed better nutritional value in the in vivo assays and amino acid contents, despite their higher trypsin inhibitor contents.

Polyphenol oxidase from yacon roots (Smallanthus sonchifolius).

Polyphenol oxidase (E.C. 1.