Nutritional and functional perspectives of pseudocereals.

An increase in the consumption of carbohydrate-rich cereals over past few decades has led to increased metabolic disorders in population. This nutritional imbalance in diets may be corrected by substituting cereal grains with pseudocereals that are richer in high-quality proteins, dietary fibers, unsaturated fats, and bioactive compounds (e.g., polyphenols and phytosterols) as compared to cereal grains. These nutrients have been associated with numerous health benefits, such as hypolipidemic, anti-inflammatory, anti-hypertensive, anti-cancer, and hepatoprotective properties, and benefits against obesity and diabetes. In this review, the nutritional composition and health benefits of quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat are compared against wheat, maize, and rice. Subsequently, the processing treatments applied to quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat and their applications into food products are discussed. This is relevant since there is substantial market potential for both pseudocereals and functional foods formulated with pseudocereals. Despite clear benefits, the current progress is slowed down by the fact that the cultivation of these pseudocereals is limited to its native regions. Therefore, to meet the global needs, it is imperative to support worldwide cultivation of these nutrient-rich pseudocereals.

Influence of heat treatments on the functionality of soy protein hydrolysates in animal cell cultures.

Soy protein hydrolysates enhance integral viable cell density (IVCD) and recombinant protein production (Immunoglobulin, IgG) in cell cultures, but their functionality varies from batch-to-batch. This is undesirable since it affects both quantity and characteristics of the recombinant proteins. It is hypothesized that the variability of hydrolysates is due to variations in meal and hydrolysate processing treatments. To study this, hydrolysates were produced from meals heated at 121 °C/0-120 min. The heating decreased free amino acid and reducing monosaccharide contents in meals (0.72-0.27% and 3.3-2.6%) and hydrolysates (14.7-7.1% and 16.9-7.9%). Dry heating introduced large variation in the IVCD ((115-316%), but additional heating in suspension reduced it (131-159%). The decrease in IVCD variation corresponded with decreased variation in carboxymethyl-lysine (CML) and lysinoalanine (LAL) contents. Thus, meal and hydrolysate processing induced substantial variation in hydrolysate functionality. It is therefore critical to establish strict process controls for meal and hydrolysate production to ensure consistency.

Influence of protein and carbohydrate contents of soy protein hydrolysates on cell density and IgG production in animal cell cultures.

The variety of compounds present in chemically defined media as well as media supplements makes it difficult to use a mechanistic approach to study the effect of supplement composition on culture functionality. Typical supplements, such as soy protein hydrolysates contain peptides, amino acids, carbohydrates, isoflavones, and saponins. To study the relative contribution of these compound classes, a set of hydrolysates were produced, containing 58-83% proteinaceous material and 5-21% carbohydrates. While the content of the different compounds classes varied, the composition (e.g., peptide profiles, carbohydrate composition) did not vary in hydrolysates. The hydrolysates were supplemented to a chemically defined medium in cell culture, based on equal weight and on equal protein levels. The latter showed that an increase in the carbohydrate concentration significantly (P value < 0.004) increased integral viable cell density (IVCD) (R = 0.7) and decreased total IgG (R = -0.7) and specific IgG production (R = -0.9). The extrapolation of effects of protein concentration showed that an increase in protein concentration increased total and specific IgG production and suppressed IVCD. In addition to proteins and carbohydrates, the functionality of soy protein hydrolysates may be modulated by the presence of other minor compounds. In the current study, the large differences in the balance between total proteins and total carbohydrates in the supplemented media seem to be a main factor influencing the balance between the viable cell density, total IgG, and specific IgG production.

Factors causing compositional changes in soy protein hydrolysates and effects on cell culture functionality.

Soy protein hydrolysates significantly enhance cell growth and recombinant protein production in cell cultures. The extent of this enhancement in cell growth and IgG production is known to vary from batch to batch. This can be due to differences in the abundance of different classes of compounds (e.g., peptide content), the quality of these compounds (e.g., glycated peptides), or the presence of specific compounds (e.g., furosine). These quantitative and qualitative differences between batches of hydrolysates result from variation in the seed composition and seed/meal processing. Although a considerable amount of literature is available that describes these factors, this knowledge has not been combined in an overview yet. The aim of this review is to identify the most dominant factors that affect hydrolysate composition and functionality. Although there is a limited influence of variation in the seed composition, the overview shows that the qualitative changes in hydrolysate composition result in the formation of minor compounds (e.g., Maillard reaction products). In pure systems, these compounds have a profound effect on the cell culture functionality. This suggests that the presence of these compounds in soy protein hydrolysates may affect hydrolysate functionality as well. This influence on the functionality can be of direct or indirect nature. For instance, some minor compounds (e.g., Maillard reaction products) are cytotoxic, whereas other compounds (e.g., phytates) suppress protein hydrolysis during hydrolysate production, resulting in altered peptide composition, and, thus, affect the functionality.