Proteomic changes associated with health benefit properties in fresh and preserved mustard greens

Mustard greens are gaining global popularity, but preservation methods like salting and pickling raise specific concerns related to high sodium content and microbial safety. This study conducted a proteomics analysis to identify health-beneficial proteins in mustard greens.

To explore protein profiles associated with health benefits in fresh and preserved mustard greens.

Shotgun proteomics combined with LC-MS/MS was applied to identify proteins, followed by statistical analysis using Welch's t-test with Benjamini-Hochberg false discovery rate correction. Unique proteins were visualized with a Venn diagram, annotated using the Gene Ontology (GO) database, and mapped to functional categories with Sankey diagrams. In silico validation of protein stability and gastrointestinal digestion was performed to assess the release of bioactive peptides.

A total of 118 high-confidence proteins were identified, including 27 unique to fresh, 23 to salted, and 22 to pickled mustard greens. Unique proteins in fresh mustard greens were associated with carbohydrate, amino acid, and nucleotide metabolism. Pickled mustard greens had proteins linked to carbohydrate, lipid, glycerol, vitamin, and cofactor metabolism, while salted mustard greens had proteins involved in amino acid, nucleotide, lipid, and glycerol metabolism. In silico digestion revealed that approximately 19-20 % of peptide fragments contained bioactive motifs, predominantly angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) inhibitory sequences.

Preserved mustard greens contain unique proteins associated with health benefits based on GO annotations, distinguishing their protein profiles from fresh mustard greens. This study provides insights into their functional properties, addressing concerns related to their consumption.