1
|
Amjad H, Saleem F, Ahmad M, Nisar U, Arshad Dar H. Comprehensive bioinformatics-based annotation and functional characterization of bovine chymosin protein revealed novel biological insights. FOOD CHEMISTRY. MOLECULAR SCIENCES 2024; 8:100191. [PMID: 38259869 PMCID: PMC10801198 DOI: 10.1016/j.fochms.2023.100191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Chymosin, an aspartic protease present in the stomachs of young ruminants like cows (bovine), causes milk coagulation and cheese production through the breakdown of κ-casein peptide bonds at the Met105-Phe106 site. Bovine chymosin is first synthesized as a pre-prochymosin that is cleaved to produce the mature chymosin protein. Despite significant strides in research, our understanding of this crucial enzyme remains incomplete. The purpose of this work was to perform in silico evolutionary and functional analysis and to gain unique insights into the structure of this protein. For this, the sequence of Bos taurus chymosin from UniProt database was subjected to various bioinformatics analyses. We found that bovine chymosin is a low molecular weight and hydrophilic protein that has homologs in other Bovidae species. Two active sites of aspartic peptidases, along with a functional domain, were identified. Gene Ontology analysis further confirmed chymosin's involvement in proteolysis and aspartic endopeptidase activity. Potential disordered residues and post-translational modification sites were also uncovered. It was revealed that the secondary structure of bovine chymosin is comprised of beta strands (44.27%), coils (43.65%), and alpha helices (12.07%). A highly optimized 3D structure was also obtained. Moreover, crucial protein-protein interactions were unveiled. Altogether, these findings provide valuable insights that could guide future research on bovine chymosin and its biological roles.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hafsa Amjad
- Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Faiza Saleem
- Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Munir Ahmad
- School of Biological Sciences, University of the Punjab, Quaid-e-Azam Campus, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Uzma Nisar
- Department of Biotechnology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
| | - Hamza Arshad Dar
- Atta-ur-Rahman School of Applied Biosciences (ASAB), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Sector H-12, Islamabad 44000, Pakistan
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Bande-De León C, Buendía-Moreno L, Abellán A, Manzi P, Al Mohandes Dridi B, Essaidi I, Aquilanti L, Tejada L. Clotting and Proteolytic Activity of Freeze-Dried Crude Extracts Obtained from Wild Thistles Cynara humilis L. and Onopordum platylepis Murb. Foods 2023; 12:2325. [PMID: 37372535 DOI: 10.3390/foods12122325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The rising interest in finding alternatives to animal rennet in cheese production has led to studying the technological feasibility of using and exploiting new species of herbaceous plants. In this research work, and for the first time, freeze-dried extracts from Cynara humilis L. (CH) and Onopordum platylepis Murb. (OP) were studied for mineral and protein content, and their clotting and proteolytic activity were compared to those of Cynara cardunculus L. (CC). The effect of extract concentration (5-40 mg extract/mL), temperature (20-85 °C), pH (5-8), and CaCl2 concentration (5-70 mM) on the milk clotting activity (MCA) of CC, CH and OP extracts was evaluated. The MCA values were significantly higher in CC at the same extract concentration. The extract that showed the most significant increase in clotting activity due to increased temperature was OP, with maximum activity at 70 °C. The pH value for maximum milk clotting was 5.0 for both CC and CH, whereas, in the case of OP, the pH value was 5.5. CaCl2 enhanced the clotting capacity of the extracts, particularly for OP and CH. Furthermore, proteolytic activity (PA) and the hydrolysis rate increased with increasing time and enzyme concentration, with CC being the extract that achieved the highest caseinolytic activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Cindy Bande-De León
- Department of Human Nutrition and Food Technology, Universidad Católica de Murcia-UCAM, Campus de los Jerónimos, 30107 Murcia, Spain
| | - Laura Buendía-Moreno
- Department of Food Science and Technology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Murcia, 30071 Murcia, Spain
| | - Adela Abellán
- Department of Human Nutrition and Food Technology, Universidad Católica de Murcia-UCAM, Campus de los Jerónimos, 30107 Murcia, Spain
| | - Pamela Manzi
- CREA, Centro di Ricerca Alimenti e Nutrizione, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy
| | - Bouthaina Al Mohandes Dridi
- Research Laboratory of Agrobiodiversity and Ecotoxicology LR21AGR02, High Agronomic Institute of Chott-Mariem, University of Sousse, Sousse 4042, Tunisia
| | - Ismahen Essaidi
- Research Laboratory of Agrobiodiversity and Ecotoxicology LR21AGR02, High Agronomic Institute of Chott-Mariem, University of Sousse, Sousse 4042, Tunisia
| | - Lucia Aquilanti
- Departament of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
| | - Luis Tejada
- Department of Human Nutrition and Food Technology, Universidad Católica de Murcia-UCAM, Campus de los Jerónimos, 30107 Murcia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Milk-Gelling Properties of Proteases Extracted from the Fruits of Solanum Elaeagnifolium Cavanilles. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD SCIENCE 2022; 2022:4625959. [PMID: 36304441 PMCID: PMC9596257 DOI: 10.1155/2022/4625959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
There is little information on the milk coagulation process by plant proteases combined with chymosins. This work is aimed at studying the capability of protease enclosed in the ripe fruits of Solanum elaeagnifolium (commonly named trompillo) to form milk gels by itself and in combination with chymosin. For this purpose, proteases were partially purified from trompillo fruits. These proteases had a molecular weight of ~60 kDa, and results suggest cucumisin-like serine proteases, though further studies are needed to confirm this observation. Unlike chymosins, trompillo proteases had high proteolytic activity (PA = 50.23 UTyr mg protein−1) and low milk-clotting activity (MCA = 3658.86 SU mL−1). Consequently, the ratio of MCA/PA was lower in trompillo proteases (6.83) than in chymosins (187 to 223). Our result also showed that milk gels formed with trompillo proteases were softer (7.03 mPa s) and had a higher release of whey (31.08%) than the milk gels clotted with chymosin (~10 mPa s and ~4% of syneresis). However, the combination of trompillo proteases with chymosin sped up the gelling process (21 min), improved the firmness of milk gels (12 mPa s), and decreased the whey release from milk curds (3.41%). Therefore, trompillo proteases could be combined with chymosin to improve the cheese yield and change certain cheese features.
Collapse
|
4
|
Felfoul I, Bouazizi A, Attia H, Karoui R. Monitoring of acid-induced coagulation of dromedary and cow's milk using different complementary analytical techniques. Food Control 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2022.108867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
5
|
Sánchez-García YI, Gutiérrez-Méndez N, Landeros-Martínez LL, Ramos-Sánchez VH, Orozco-Mena R, Salmerón I, Leal-Ramos MY, Sepúlveda DR. Crystallization of Lactose-Protein Solutions in the Presence of Flavonoids. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2022; 70:2684-2694. [PMID: 35175029 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.1c05315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Lactose is commonly crystallized in the presence of whey proteins, forming co-crystals of lactose and proteins. This work hypothesized that flavonoids such as rutin or epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) could be incorporated into the lactose and protein co-crystal structure since flavonoids may interact with both lactose and proteins. The interactions between whey proteins and flavonoids were first studied. Then, lactose-protein solutions were crystallized with and without flavonoids, measuring the kinetic parameters of crystallization and characterizing the resulting crystals. The incorporation of flavonoids in lactose-protein co-crystals depended on the hydrophilic nature of flavonoids. The hydrophilic EGCG was scarcely enclosed in the crystal lattice of lactose and avoided the inclusion of whey proteins in the crystals. In contrast, the less water-soluble rutin interacted with whey proteins and lactose, leading to the formation of co-crystals containing lactose, protein, and a large concentration of rutin (3.468 ± 0.392 mg per 100 mg of crystals).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanira I Sánchez-García
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - Néstor Gutiérrez-Méndez
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - Linda L Landeros-Martínez
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - Víctor H Ramos-Sánchez
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - Raúl Orozco-Mena
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - Iván Salmerón
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - Martha Y Leal-Ramos
- The Graduate School, Graduate Program in Chemistry, Chemistry School, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, Chihuahua PC 31125, México
| | - David R Sepúlveda
- Research Center for Food and Development, Civil Association (CIAD A.C.), Cuauhtémoc PC 31125, México
| |
Collapse
|