Effects of high hydrostatic pressure treatment on structural, allergenicity, and functional properties of proteins from ginkgo seeds

The effects of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment on the structural, allergenicity and functional properties of ginkgo seed protein (GSP) were investigated. GSP was treated under pressures of 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600 and 700 MPa. Western blotting and ELISA assay revealed that HHP treatment at pressure ranges from 300 up to 700 MPa can significantly reduce the allergenicity of GSP. Meanwhile, SDS-PAGE, MALDI-TOF-MS, CD spectra, fluorescence spectra and UV absorption spectra analysis revealed that, after HHP treatment, the GSP disintegrated into proteins with small molecular weights ranging from 4 to 30 kDa; the secondary structures of alpha-helices and beta-sheet were largely destroyed and turned into random coil; and the UV absorption intensity, surface hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl group (SH) content of GSP were significantly increased. Moreover, the HHP-treated GSP showed markedly improved heat stability and emulsifying properties compared to the untreated GSP. Industrial relevance: As a traditional food and medicine source, the seeds of Ginkgo biloba were used in china for several thousand years. Ginkgo seeds could be added to desserts, glazed fruit, beverages and tipple, also ginkgo seeds, as a traditional Chinese medicinal material, have been recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medical. Research shows that ginkgo seeds have a relatively high content (10%-15%) of proteins, which possess rich and reasonable composition of amino acids, and much higher content of essential amino acids than the recommended FAO/WHO standard, belonging to the high-quality protein. Ginkgo seeds proteins (GSP) have many biological activities, including anti-oxidation, anti-aging, anti-tumor, and anti-bacterial, so it has high value of nutrition and medicine. However, eating GSP could result in allergic reaction to humans, infant, or children are more sensitive to GSP, the clinical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting; bellyache, diarrhea, dysphoria, exanimation, convulsions, dyspnea, and mydriasis, and sometimes even death can occur. In the study, we used the method of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatments, which can significantly improve the functional properties and reduce the antigenicity of GSP. After the HHP treatment, GSP can be transformed into proteins with small molecular weights ranging from 4 to 30 kDa, the antigenicity of GSP can be reduced by more than 95%, and the heat stability and emulsifying properties of GSP can be markedly improved. Thus, this study is very helpful for designing the hypoallergenic and improved functional GSP, which could have a relevant practical application for their use as base ingredients of food. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.