Insights into the impact of complex phosphates on acid-induced milk fan gel properties: Texture, rheological, microstructure, and molecular forces.

Milk fan cheese, a type of stretched -cheese, presents challenges in its stretch-forming. This study investigated the impacts of complex phosphates (sodium tripolyphosphate and sodium dihydrogen phosphate, STPP-DSP) on the gelling properties of acid-induced milk fan gel and the mechanisms contributing to its stretch-forming. The treatment of milk fan gel with STPP-DSP resulted in improved functional and textural properties compared with the control group. In particular, drawing length increased significantly from 69.67 nm to 80.33 nm, and adhesiveness increased from 1737.89 g/mm to 1969.79 g/mm. The addition of STPP-DSP also led to increased viscosity, elastic modulus (G'), and viscous modulus (G"). Microstructural analysis revealed the formation of a fibrous structure within the gel after STPP-DSP treatment, facilitating uniform embedding of fat globules and emulsification. Structural analysis showed that the addition of STPP-DSP increased ß-fold and decreased random coiling of the gel, facilitating the unfolding of protein structures. Additionally, UV absorption spectroscopy and excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy results indicated the formation of a chelate between STPP-DSP and milk fan gel, increasing protein-protein molecular interactions. Evidence from differential scanning calorimetry and x-ray diffraction demonstrated the formation of sodium caseinate chelate. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and zeta potential analysis revealed that the sodium caseinate chelate formed through hydrophobicity, hydrogen bonding, and electrostatic forces. These findings provided theoretical insights into how phosphates can improve the stretch-forming of milk fan gel, facilitating the application of phosphate additives in stretched -cheese processing.

Identification and molecular mechanism of novel bifunctional peptides from Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) pig dry-cured ham: A peptidomics and in silico analysis.

Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) pigs are popular in the Chinese market because of their rapid growth, leanness, and economic value. Despite their widespread use in dry-cured ham processing, there is a lack of research on the bioactive peptides of Duroc × (Landrace × Yorkshire) pig ham (DLYH). This study aimed to investigate the presence of peptides with antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in DLYH using peptidomics and in silico analysis. A total of 453 peptides were identified from DLYH, originating mainly from myosin, actin, and the EF-hand domain-containing protein. Notably, two peptides, YDEAGPSIVH (YH10) and FAGDDAPRAVF (FF11), emerged as novel bioactive peptides with antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Among these peptides, YH10 exhibited a high DPPH radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 1.93 mM), ABTS radical scavenging activity (IC50 = 0.10 mM), α-glucosidase inhibitory activity (IC50 = 2.13 mM), and good gastrointestinal tolerance. Molecular docking analysis showed that YH10 was bound to the ABTS and DPPH radicals and the active site of α-glucosidase (3A4A) primarily through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Furthermore, molecular dynamics (MD) simulation indicated that the YH10-3A4A complexes maintained stable and compact conformations. In conclusion, our findings indicated that peptide YH10 derived from DLYH possesses bifunctional properties of α-glucosidase inhibition and antioxidant activity, which could be beneficial for maintaining ham quality and promoting human health.

Discovery of specific antioxidant peptide from Chinese Dahe black pig and hybrid pig dry-cured hams based on peptidomics strategy.

The quality of hams obtained from different pig breeds can vary depending on endogenous antioxidant peptides in the hams. The aims of this study were (i) to investigate the specific peptides in Chinese Dahe black pig ham (DWH) and hybrid pig ham (Yorkshire × Landrace × Dahe black ham, YLDWH) and their antioxidant activity, and (ii) to elucidate the relationship between ham quality and antioxidant peptides. iTRAQ quantitative peptidomic method was used to discover specific peptides of DWH and YLDWH. In addition, in vitro assays were performed to evaluate their antioxidant activity. A total of 73 specific peptides were identified from DWH and YLDWH by LC-MS/MS. Forty-four specific peptides in DWH were primarily hydrolysed from myosin and myoglobin by endopeptidases, while 29 specific peptides in YLDWH were primarily hydrolysed from myosin and troponin-T. Six specific peptides that were statistically significantly different based on their fold changes and P-values were selected for the identification of DWH and YLDWH. DWH-derived specific peptide AGAPDERGPGPAAR (AR14), which had high stability and was non-toxic, had the highest DPPH• and ABTS•+ scavenging activity (IC50 = 1.657 mg/mL and 0.173 mg/mL, respectively) and cellular antioxidant capacity. Molecular docking showed that AR14 interacted with Val369, and Val420 of Keap1 via hydrogen bonds. Furthermore, AR14 bound to DPPH and ABTS through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. Together, our results demonstrate that the DWH-derived antioxidant peptide AR14 exhibits the free radical scavenging and cellular antioxidant activity and can be used to preserve ham quality and promote human health.

Insights into in vitro digestion properties and peptide profiling of Chinese rubing PDO cheese prepared using different acidification technology.

Rubing cheese is a traditional Chinese Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheese consumed for more than six hundred years, but to date, the digestion properties and peptide profiling during simulated gastrointestinal digestion are still uncertain. This study aimed to investigate the effects of traditional direct acidification technology (TRB) and fermentation acidification technology on digestion properties and peptide profiling of rubing cheese (FRB) proteins after simulated gastrointestinal digestion by protein digestomics, coupled with bioinformatic in silico analyses to identify potential bioactive peptides. The results demonstrated that FRB could significantly improve the in vitro digestibility, protein degradation, and polypeptide content than TRB (P ＜ 0.05). Furthermore, a total of 369 and 332 peptides were identified in FRB- and TRB-pancreatic digests, respectively, using LC-MS/MS. FRB could release more low molecular weight peptides of 400-1200 Da from α-casein and ß-casein after digestion. These low peptides included 16 reported potential ACEIPs (angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides), 11 dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory peptides, and 6 antioxidant peptides, while TRB contained more than the reported potential antimicrobial peptides (10). In vitro activity determination showed that FRB had significantly higher ACEI, α-glucosidase inhibitory, and antioxidant activities than TRB during the entire digestion time (P ＜ 0.05), which was correlated to the reported potential bioactive peptides released during the digestion of FRB. Our study is the most comprehensive protein digestomic analysis of Chinese rubing cheese to date and provides a new positive outlook on rubing cheese consumption.