Identification of novel salt-enhancing peptides in soy protein and molecular docking studies with transmembrane channel-like 4 (TMC4)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to rapidly screen novel salt-enhancing peptides from soy protein by virtual screening and molecular docking. Potential salt-enhancing peptides were screened by computerized virtual hydrolysis, bioactivity prediction, toxicity prediction, and water solubility prediction. Sensory evaluation and e-tongue analysis further indicated that the peptides DIF (Asp-Ile-Phe), QPR (Gln-Pro-Arg), MMR (Met-Met-Arg), and DPIY (Asp-Pro-Ile-Tyr) had significant salting enhancing effects. Among them, MMR had the most significant salting effect, replacing at least about 40.35% of NaCl. In addition, a transmembrane channel-like 4 (TMC4) salty receptor model was built, and molecular docking was performed using computational techniques. Glu286, His293, Glu319, and Ser585 were hypothesized to be key binding sites. Molecular dynamics simulations further confirmed the stability of the complex system. This study discovered new salt-enhancing peptides in soy protein and provided a rapid and effective approach for further research in this area.