Production, structure–function relationships, mechanisms, and applications of antifreeze peptides

Abstract

Growth of ice crystals can cause serious problems, such as frozen products deterioration, road damage, energy losses, and safety risks of human beings. Antifreeze peptides (AFPs), a healthy and effective cryoprotectant, have great potential as ice crystal growth inhibitors for a variety of frozen products. In this review, methods and technologies for the production, purification, evaluation, and characterization of AFPs are comprehensively summarized. First, this review describes the preparation of AFPs, including the methods of enzymatic hydrolysis, chemical synthesis, and microbial fermentation. Next, this review introduces the major methods by which to evaluate AFPs’ antifreeze activity, including nanoliter osmometer, differential scanning calorimetry, splat‐cooling, the biovaluation model, and novel technology. Moreover, this review presents an overview of the molecular characteristics, structure–function relationships, and action mechanisms of AFPs. Furthermore, advances in the application of AFPs to frozen food, including frozen dough, meat products, fruits, vegetable products, and dairy, are summarized and holistically analyzed. Finally, challenges of AFPs and future perspectives on their use are also discussed. An understanding of the production, structure–function relationships, mechanisms and applications of AFPs provides inspiration for further research into the use of AFPs in food science and food nutrition applications.

Effects of Ultrasound-Assisted Vacuum Impregnation Antifreeze Protein on the Water-Holding Capacity and Texture Properties of the Yesso Scallop Adductor Muscle during Freeze–Thaw Cycles

“…The channels for drip loss in the control group were formed by the expanded extracellular space and disintegration of connective tissue, which may be the major factor of the reduction in WHC. The hydrophilic surface of the AFP side chain is thought to match and bind to the prismatic surface (growth surface) of the ice crystal through hydrogen bonding, exposing the hydrophobic surface with a high surface free energy, and thereby lowering the freezing point and hindering the growth of ice nucleation and recrystallization [10]. The ice crystal morphology of the muscle tissue in cross-sectional microscopic images was further analyzed using Image analysis software (Image-Pro Plus 6.0, Media Cybernetics, American).…”

“…Antifreeze agents could decrease the freezing point, inhibit the growth of ice crystals, and thus prolong the shelf-life of frozen products. The addition of cryoprotectants to aquatic products has been found to be one of the most effective ways of alleviating the deterioration of quality during freezing and frozen storage [10,11]. Compared with other common antifreeze agents, antifreeze proteins (AFPs) had better frozen stability [12].…”

“…However, appropriate external forces are required to further disperse and permeate into the tissue due to the large molecular weight of AFP [12]. Research on AFPs has mainly been aimed to the preparation and evaluation of AFP [10], the effect of protein oxidation [12], and the protein aggregation state [15], but little attention has been paid to the WHC and texture properties of muscle.…”

Snow flea antifreeze peptide for cryopreservation of lactic acid bacteria

“…Cryopreservation is one of the most effective techniques for food storage 2 . However, frozen food continuously suffers from the damage caused by ice crystals growth or recrystallization, which damages the cell and tissue structure, so that weight loss, discoloration, protein denaturation, and nutrient loss of the products during freezing or freezing storage 3 . Moreover, cell-based frozen foods, such as freeze-dried probiotics are susceptible to mechanical damage caused by ice crystals, which eventually leads to reduced cell viability 4 .…”

“…Thermal hysteresis activity (THA), ice recrystallization inhibition (IRI) ability, and ice nucleation isomerization ability are key properties of AFPs 9 – 12 , making them promising novel cryoprotectants for application in frozen foods, cryobiology, or biological materials 10 , 13 – 16 . However, the large-scale applications of AFPs purified from natural organisms are difficult due to low yield and high purification costs 3 . Recently a glycine-rich AFP has been isolated from Canadian snow fleas 17 , and its molecular structure was reported by Pentelute et al 18 and Treviño et al 19 .…”