Antioxidant Properties of Hemp Proteins: From Functional Food to Phytotherapy and Beyond

Abstract

As one of the oldest plants cultivated by humans, hemp used to be banned in the United States but returned as a legal crop in 2018. Since then, the United States has become the leading hemp producer in the world. Currently, hemp attracts increasing attention from consumers and scientists as hemp products provide a wide spectrum of potential functions. Particularly, bioactive peptides derived from hemp proteins have been proven to be strong antioxidants, which is an extremely hot research topic in recent years. However, some controversial disputes and unknown issues are still underway to be explored and verified in the aspects of technique, methodology, characteristic, mechanism, application, caution, etc. Therefore, this review focusing on the antioxidant properties of hemp proteins is necessary to discuss the multiple critical issues, including in vitro structure-modifying techniques and antioxidant assays, structure-activity relationships of antioxidant peptides, pre-clinical studies on hemp proteins and pathogenesis-related molecular mechanisms, usage and potential hazard, and novel advanced techniques involving bioinformatics methodology (QSAR, PPI, GO, KEGG), proteomic analysis, and genomics analysis, etc. Taken together, the antioxidant potential of hemp proteins may provide both functional food benefits and phytotherapy efficacy to human health.

Protein Mass Fingerprinting and Antioxidant Power of Hemp Seeds in Relation to Plant Cultivar and Environment

“…Cs2S, the most prevalent protein in water extracts, presents the highest level of sulfur-containing amino acids when compared to Cs7S and Cs11S globulins, suggesting a better antioxidant effect, as reported in [ 35 ]. The sequence of amino acids is another significant trait in determining potential bioactivity: for instance, hydrophobic amino acids at the N-terminus and hydrophilic amino acids at the C-terminus of a peptide have been correlated with high free radical scavenging activity [ 36 ]. The abundance of low-molecular-weight compounds revealed by mass analysis in the albumin fraction, together with the previous identification of edestin peptides with antioxidant activity in the protein extracts from the experimental field [ 21 ], further support the hypothesis that the higher radical scavenging activity of albumin extracts is at least in part due to molecules of protein origin.…”

Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives—A Future Direction to the Milky Way

“…Meanwhile hempseed (Cannabis sativa L.), part of the Cannabaceae family is abundant in oil, fiber, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, C, D3, E, carotenoids, magnesium, and micro-and macro-elements), and phytochemicals such as cannabinoids with the two most representative ones being (-)-trans-∆ 9 -tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), with intoxicating effects (this is found in low concentration (<0.3%), in industrial hemp), and (-)-cannabidiol (CBD) [89]. These kinds of nuts sustain the immune system, protect against oxidative stress, help in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, reduce inflammation, and have anticancer effects [90,91].…”

An Overview of Ingredients Used for Plant-Based Meat Analogue Production and Their Influence on Structural and Textural Properties of the Final Product

“…However, significant attention should be paid regarding the effect of the oils/fats during preparation of meat analogues with the extrusion process. Oil or fat addition increases juiciness and affects textural properties, such as fiber formation, of the final product [138]. Lipids decrease viscosity of the mixtures used for extrusion and can lubricate the extruder, resulting in a decrease in shearing and friction, and lowering the mechanical energy required to run the extrusion process.…”