Chapter 59 - Nutrition, Diet, the Eye, and Vision: Molecular Aspects of Vitamin A Binding Proteins and Their Importance in Vision

Abstract

This chapter reviews the various retinoid–protein binding mechanisms using spectroscopic methods and molecular modeling. The results show that in the same family of proteins such as human and bovine serum albumins, as well as milk β-lactoglobulin and caseins, retinol binds more strongly than retinoic acid, causing more alterations to protein secondary structure. Hydrophobic contact is predominant in retinoid–protein complexation, and several amino acids are involved in retinoid–protein complexes stabilized by a hydrogen-bonding network.