Cicerarin, a novel antifungal peptide from the green chickpea

How does maturity stage affect seeds metabolome via UPLC/MS based molecular networking and chemometrics and in relation to antioxidant effect? A case study in 4 major cereals and legumes

Legumes and cereals as staple food are typically consumed at mature stage, though also consumed at earlier stages. UPLC/MS based molecular networking and chemometrics were employed for the first time to address metabolome composition heterogeneity amongst seeds in the context of their maturity stages. The study included 4 major cereal and leguminous seeds of different species, and cultivars i.e., Triticum aestivum, Hordeum vulgare, Vicia faba and Cicer arietinum. 146 Metabolites from various classes were identified of which several are first time to be reported. Supervised OPLS model of all datasets revealed that sugars and oxylipids were dominant in mature and immature seeds, respectively. DPPH and FRAP assays were assessed for differential secondary metabolites' correlation. Results were attributed to flavonoids, oxylipids, and amino acids/peptides. Mature barley seeds possessed the strongest antioxidant activity among examined seeds. This study provides novel insights on seeds' maturation process in context to holistic metabolic changes.

Extension of the Shelf-Life of Fresh Pasta Using Chickpea Flour Fermented with Selected Lactic Acid Bacteria

Fresh pasta is subjected to rapid spoilage, mainly due to the metabolic activity of bacteria, yeasts, and especially molds, which negatively affect the sensorial characteristics and the safety of the product. In this work, chickpea flour was fermented with selected lactic acid bacteria, characterized in terms of the antifungal activity, and used to fortify fresh semolina pasta. Pasta was characterized and subjected to a long period of storage after being artificially inoculated with Penicillium roqueforti. Conventional fresh semolina pasta, produced with or without calcium propionate addition, was used as a reference. The water/salt-soluble extract from chickpea sourdough exhibited antifungal activity towards a large spectrum of molds. Its purification led to the identification of ten potentially active peptides. Besides the high content of dietary fibers (4.37%) and proteins (11.20%), nutritional improvements, such as the decrease of the antinutritional factors concentration and the starch hydrolysis index (25% lower than the control) and the increase of the protein digestibility (36% higher than the control), were achieved in fresh pasta fortified with the chickpea sourdough. Inhibition of the indicator mold growth during a 40-day storage period was more effective than in pasta added to calcium propionate.

Biological Activities of Chickpea in Human Health (Cicer arietinum L.). A Review

Chickpea is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. Among their benefits are the high protein concentration that reflects not only at the nutritional level but also on the supply of active peptides; besides, it presents different metabolites with pharmacological activities. Some biological activities identified in the different compounds of chickpea are antioxidant, antihypertensive, hypocholesterolemic, and anticancer. Although most reports are based on the effects of the proteins and their hydrolysates, alcoholic extracts have also been proven that contain phenolic compounds, saponins, phytates, among others; therefore, their consumption has been dubbed as an alternative for the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. In the present review, we summarize the nutritional composition of the chickpea and describe the main biological activities reported for this legume, revealing some of its beneficial effects on health, of which there is still much to be elucidated.

Characterization of a novel seed protein of Prosopis cineraria showing antifungal activity

An antifungal protein with a molecular mass of 38.6 kDa was isolated from the seed of Prosopis cineraria. The protein was purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation, ion exchange chromatography and gel filtration. The antifungal activity of purified protein was retained up to 50 °C for 10 min. The MALDI TOF mass spectroscopy revealed 15 assorted peptides. The molecular weight of the antifungal protein is different from antifungal proteins reported in seeds of other leguminous plants. The purified protein exerted antifungal activity against post-harvest fruit fungal pathogens Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Aspergillus fumigatus, isolated from the rotten fruits. The antifungal properties of this novel antifungal protein can be potentially exploited to manage post-harvest fungal disease of fruits through alternative means to reduce use of hazardous chemicals.

Characterization of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) lectin for biological activity

Lectins are proteins that are subject of intense investigations. Information on lectin from chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) with respect to its biological activities are very limited. In this study, we purified lectin from the seeds of chickpea employing DEAE-cellulose and SP-Sephadex ion exchange chromatography and identified its molecular subunit mass as 35 kDa. The free radical scavenging activity of lectin measured by the DPPH assay has IC₅₀ of 0.88 µg/mL. Lectin exerted antifungal activity against Candida krusei, Fusarium oxysporium oxysporium, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Candida albicans, while antibacterial activity against E. coli, B. subtilis, S. marcescens and P. aeruginosa. The minimum inhibitory concentrations were 200, 240, 160 and 140 µg for C. krusei, F. oxysporium, S. cerevisiae and C. albicans respectively. Lectin was further examined for its antiproliferative potential against cancerous cell line. The cell viability assay indicated a high inhibition activity on Ishikawa, HepG2, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 with IC₅₀ value of 46.67, 44.20, 53.58 and 37.46 µg/mL respectively. These results can provide a background for future research into the benefits of chickpea lectin to pharmacological perspective.

Natural products--antifungal agents derived from plants

A new spectrum of human fungal infections is increasing due to increased cancer, AIDS, and immunocompromised patients. The increased use of antifungal agents also resulted in the development of resistance to the present drugs. It makes necessary to discover new classes of antifungal compounds to cure fungal infections. Plants are rich source of bioactive secondary metabolites of wide variety such as tannins, terpenoids, saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids, and other compounds, reported to have in vitro antifungal properties. Since the plant kingdom provides a useful source of lead compounds of novel structure, a wide-scale investigation of species from the tropics has been considered. Therefore, the research on natural products and compounds derived from natural products has accelerated in recent years due to their importance in drug discovery. A series of molecules with antifungal activity against different strains of fungus have been found in plants, which are of great importance to humans. These molecules may be used directly or considered as a precursor for developing better molecules. This review attempts to summarize the current status of important antifungal compounds from plants.

Ganodermin, an antifungal protein from fruiting bodies of the medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum

A 15-kDa antifungal protein, designated ganodermin, was isolated from the medical mushroom Ganoderma lucidum. The isolation procedure utilized chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, Affi-gel blue gel, CM-Sepharose and Superdex 75. Ganodermin was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose and adsorbed on Affi-gel blue gel and CM-Sepharose. Ganodermin inhibited the mycelial growth of Botrytis cinerea, Fusarium oxysporum and Physalospora piricola with an IC50 value of 15.2 microM, 12.4 microM and 18.1 microM, respectively. It was devoid of hemagglutinating, deoxyribonuclease, ribonuclease and protease inhibitory activities.

An antifungal protein from flageolet beans

A protein with antifungal and hemagglutinating activities was isolated from dried flageolet beans (Phaseolus vulgaris cv. 'Flageolet Bean'). The protein was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose but adsorbed on Affi-gel blue gel and CM-cellulose. The protein demonstrated antifungal activity against Mycophaerella arachidicola with an IC50 of 9.8 microM, but was inactive toward Fusarium oxysporum and Botrytis cinerea. Its hemagglutinating activity could not be inhibited by a variety of the sugars tested. The activity was stable up to 60 degrees C. At 70 degrees C, 75% of the hemagglutinating activity remained while no activity was discernible at and above 100 degrees C. The hemagglutinating activity was stable in the presence of a variety of monovalent, divalent and trivalent chlorides, and also when the ambient pH changed from 3 to 12. It did not exert any mitogenic activity on mouse splenocytes in vitro. Neither did it inhibit HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. It inhibited [3H-methyl]-thymidine incorporation into leukemia L1210 cells with an IC50 of about 4 microM.

An antifungal peptide from the coconut

A chromatographic procedure consisting of ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, affinity chromatography on Affi-gel blue gel, ion exchange chromatography on CM-cellulose, and gel filtration by fast performance liquid chromatography on Supedex 75 was utilized to isolate a 10 kDa antifungal peptide from coconut flesh. The peptide was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose, but adsorbed on Affi-gel blue gel and CM-cellulose. It displayed antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum, Mycosphaerella arachidicola and Physalospora piricola. The IC50 values of its inhibitory activities on mycelial growth in M. arachidicola and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase activity were respectively 1.2 and 52.5 microM.

Pleurostrin, an antifungal peptide from the oyster mushroom

A 7kDa peptide, with inhibitory activity on mycelial growth in the fungi Fusaerium oxysporum, Mycosphaerella arachidicola and Physalospora piricola, was isolated from fresh fruiting bodies of the oyster mushroom. The isolation procedure entailed extraction with an aqueous buffer, ion exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, affinity chromatography on Affi-gel blue gel and gel filtration by fast protein liquid chromatography on Superdex 75. The protein was unadsorbed on DEAE-cellulose and adsorbed on Affi-gel blue gel. It demonstrated an N-terminal sequence different from known antifungal proteins and peptides.

Effects of peptides, with emphasis on feeding, pain, and behavior A 5-year (1999-2003) review of publications in Peptides

Novel effects of naturally occurring peptides are continuing to be discovered, and their mechanisms of actions as well as interactions with other substances, organs, and systems have been elucidated. Synthetic analogs may have actions similar or antagonistic to the endogenous peptides, and both the native peptides and analogs have potential as drugs or drug targets. The journal Peptides publishes many leading articles on the structure-activity relationship of peptides as well as outstanding reviews on some families of peptides. Complementary to the reviews, here we extract information from the original papers published during the past five years in Peptides (1999-2003) to summarize the effects of different classes of peptides, their modulation by other chemicals and various pathophysiological states, and the mechanisms by which the effects are exerted. Special attention is given to peptides related to feeding, pain, and other behaviors. By presenting in condensed form the effects of peptides which are essential for systems biology, we hope that this summary of existing knowledge will encourage additional novel research to be presented in Peptides.

Antifungal proteins and peptides of leguminous and non-leguminous origins

Antifungal proteins and peptides, as their names imply, serve a protective function against fungal invasion. They are produced by a multitude of organisms including leguminous flowering plants, non-leguminous flowering plants, gymnosperms, fungi, bacteria, insects and mammals. The intent of the present review is to focus on the structural and functional characteristics of leguminous, as well as non-leguminous, antifungal proteins and peptides. A spectacular diversity of amino acid sequences has been reported. Some of the antifungal proteins and peptides are classified, based on their structures and/or functions, into groups including chitinases, glucanases, thaumatin-like proteins, thionins, and cyclophilin-like proteins. Some of the well-known proteins such as lectins, ribosome inactivating proteins, ribonucleases, deoxyribonucleases, peroxidases, and protease inhibitors exhibit antifungal activity. Different antifungal proteins may demonstrate different fungal specificities. The mechanisms of antifungal action of only some antifungal proteins including thaumatin-like proteins and chitinases have been elucidated.