Flaxseed Proteome As Precursors Of Antioxidant Peptides: An In Silico Study

Objectives: The role of antioxidant peptides in the control of oxidative stress in vivo as well as the control of oxidative deterioration of foods is well documented. In this study, the suitability of 23 storage flaxseed proteins for the production of antioxidant peptides from nine (9) proteases was investigated in silco by using several bioinformatics tools. Methods: Physicochemical properties, allergenicity, and toxicity of the proteins and in silico –derived antioxidant peptides were studied with the aid of databases and in silico tools such as BIOPEP-UWM, ProtParamExPASy, ToxinPred, and AllergenFP. Results: The storage flaxseed proteins were predominantly globulins, oleosins, and conlinin, which released 272, 9 and 2 antioxidant peptides respectively. Compared with the gastrointestinal (trypsin, pepsin, pancreatic elastase II), and microbial (thermolysin, proteinase P1, subtilisin) sources, the plant proteases (papain, ficin, and bromelain), were the most suitable for the release of antioxidant peptides, based on number of peptides and BIOPEP-UWM descriptors AE and W. Potential peptide toxicity prediction by ToxinPred showed that none of the 283 peptides released was toxic. The peptides also showed relevant antioxidation properties such as relatively low molecular weight (dipeptides and tripeptides only); strong amphipathic properties (hydrophobicity range of – 0.5 to + 0.5); relatively low Boman index (≤2); broad range of pI (3.7 – 10.8), and an abundance of antioxidant amino acid residues (e.g. glutamic acid and histidine). Conclusion: This study demonstrate the suitability of flaxseed proteins as a source of APs. ----------------------------------------- This conference paper was presented at the 2019 Joint Conference of the International Society for Nutraceuticals and Functional Foods (ISNFF) and International Conference on Food Factors (ICOFF). Kobe, Japan, December 1-5. DA acknowledges a summer research grant, and travel grant from Microbiome Otago to present this study at the 2019 ISNFF/ICOFF Conference