Chapters authored
Current Advances Research in Nutraceutical Compounds of Legumes, Pseudocereals and Cereals By Salvador Priego-Poyato, Maria Rodrigo-Garcia, Julia Escudero-Feliu, Maria Garcia-Costela, Elena Lima-Cabello, Angel Carazo-Gallego, Sonia Morales-Santana, Josefa Leon and Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez
The increase of the Western-type diet and life-style, with high content of highly processed fats, salt and sugar, as well as sedentary life, is directly linked to an increasing incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and obesity, cancer, cardiovascular diseases or stroke, and inflammatory-related diseases, which are a great challenge in global health and are usually associated with negative effects of globalization: rapid urbanization, diet and increased sedentary life worldwide. This has brought new interest and increased research into plant-based diets. In this context, the implementation in the diet of legumes, cereals and pseudo-cereals, due to their nutraceutical properties, which is interesting as well as advisable. These foods, in addition of having a high nutritional value themselves, have synergistic properties as part of a balanced diet. For example, most legumes are rich in lysine which is scarce in cereals, and these are rich in sulphur amino acids, such as methionine, while these amino acids are scarce in legumes and are of great importance for the central nervous system development. These foods or part of a food, due to their qualities, and that they provide health benefits can be classified as nutraceuticals. In addition, due to their health benefits beyond nutritional properties, can be classified as functional foods, promoting prevention and treatment for the above mentioned diseases, among others. This double function is due mainly to the proteins and the presence of various secondary metabolites and bioactive compounds in these foods of plant (grain and seed) origin. Last discovered knowledge and research features will be described in the present book chapter.
Part of the book: Grain and Seed Proteins Functionality
Molecular and Functional Characterisation of Allergenic Non-specific Lipid Transfer Proteins of Sweet Lupin Seed Species By Maria Rodrigo-Garcia, Esther Rodriguez-de Haro, Salvador Priego-Poyato, Elena Lima-Cabello, Sonia Morales-Santana and Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez
Non-specific lipid transfer proteins (nsLTPs) are small proteins abundant in plants, which function in transferring phospholipids and galactolipids across the membrane. nsLTPs also play a key role in plant resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, growth and development, as well as in sexual reproduction, seed development, and germination. In addition, these proteins have previously been identified as food allergens. In the present study, we carried out a molecular and functional comparative characterisation of 25 sequences of nsLTPs of lupin legumes and other species. Extensive analysis was carried out; including comparison of databases, phylogeny, physical–chemical properties, functional properties of post-translational modifications, protein structure conservation, 2-D and 3D modelling, functional interaction analysis, and allergenicity including identification of IgE, T-cell, and B-cell binding epitopes. The results indicated that particular structural features of nsLTPs are essential to the functionality of these proteins, high level of structural stability and conservation. Information about different functional interactions between nsLTPs and ligands showed that nsLTPs can accommodate several of them with different structure; and that the relationship between structure and allergenicity was investigated through the identification of epitopes susceptible of being involved in cross-reactivity between species of the Fabaceae family.
Part of the book: Legumes Research
Comparative Analysis of Molecular Allergy Features of Seed Proteins from Soybean (Glycine max) and Other Legumes Extensively Used for Food By Andrea Roman-Mateo, Esther Rodriguez-de Haro, Jose M. Berral-Hens, Sonia Morales-Santana and Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez
Food allergies due to eating habits, pollution, and other factors are a growing problem in Western nations as well as developing countries. Symptoms of food allergies include changes in the respiratory and digestive systems. Legumes are a potential solution to the enormous demands for healthy, nutritive, and sustainable food. However, legumes also contain families of proteins that can cause food allergies. Some of these legumes include peanut, pea, chickpea, soy, and lupine. It has been shown that processing can alter the allergenicity of legumes since thermic and enzymatic resistance can affect these properties. Cross-reactivity (CR) is an allergy feature of some allergen proteins when the immune system recognizes part of the common share sequences (epitopes) in these allergic proteins. The research about molecular allergy includes comparisons of immunoglobulin E (IgE) and T-cell epitopes, assessment of three-dimensional structure and comparison of secondary structure elements, post-transduction modifications analysis by bioinformatic approach, and post-transduction modifications affecting epitopes properties may facilitate molecular tools to predict protein allergic behavior establishing prevention measurements that could promote the use of legumes and other seeds. This chapter provides an overview of the structural features of the main allergen proteins from legumes and their allergenic potential.
Part of the book: Seed Biology Updates
Molecular and Functional Analysis of Soybean Allergen Proteins with a Focus on Pollen-Food Syndrome By Cristina Requejo-Serrano, Julia Escudero-Feliu, Maria Ortega-Ferrer, Carmen Jimenez-Campos, María Padilla-Dominguez, Sonia Morales-Santana and Jose C. Jimenez-Lopez
Gly m 3 and Gly m 4 are major soybean food allergens, causing birch pollen cross-allergic reactions, particularly with Bet v 1 and Bet v 2. These allergens can mediate anaphylactic reactions; however, the causative factors are still unknown. The goals of this comparative study are to characterize (A) the structural functionality of Gly m allergens of Glycine max and Bet v allergens of Betula pendula form birch, with a focus on their immunological properties, and (B) the molecular mechanisms of cross-allergenicity involved in pollen-food syndrome. This was achieved by extensive analysis using different molecular computer-aided approaches covering (1) physicochemical properties and functional-regulatory motifs, (2) sequence analysis, 2D and 3D structural homology modeling comparative study, (3) conservational and evolutionary analysis, (4) identification of B-cell epitopes based on sequence and structure-docking, while T-cell epitopes were identified by inhibitory concentration and binding score methods. Thus, we found that particular epitopes, in addition to the conserved ones, could be responsible for eliciting cross-reactivity between Bet v 1 and Bet v 2, and their respective homolog allergens proteins found in soybean. Moreover, variable epitopes were present in the Gly m 4 and Gly m 3 structures, which may be also responsible for this causative cross-allergenicity between soybean seed and birch pollen proteins.
Part of the book: Soybean Crop
View all chapters