Impact of glycated pea proteins on the activity of free-swimming and immobilised bacteria

BACKGROUND: Glycation (non-enzymatic glycosylation), a spontaneously occurring process, is responsible for alteration of the structures and biological activities of proteins, making them highly active. Regrettably, information regarding the impact of glycated food proteins on intestinal bacteria still remains sparse. Pea seeds are considered to be a biological material of a high nutritional value, low content of anti-nutritional substances and proven health-promoting action and therefore they were used in this study. Since glycated pea proteins are proven to display a lowered susceptibility to the enzymatic digestion, their impact on the activity of both free-swimming and immobilised bacteria was studied. RESULTS: In vitro model systems were used to prove the stimulatory impact of glycated pea proteins on the proliferation rate and survival, as well as on the metabolic activity of free-swimming and immobilised bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: This phenomenon is of great importance because glycated food proteins are not only a source of nutrients and energy but also display new properties and increased biological activities. Additionally, they are able to modify the bacterial intestinal ecosystem, thus affecting the general health status of a consumer. (C) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry