Interactions between different concentrations of vitexin and mung bean protein and their effects on the physicochemical and antioxidant properties of the complexes

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the interactions between homologous mung bean protein (MBP)1 and vitexin (VT)2 during food processing and examine their effects on functional properties. The effects of the interaction patterns, physicochemical properties, and antioxidant activities of the VT-MBP complexes were determined. The results showed that the particle size of the VT-MBP composite increased due to cross-linking and was positively correlated with the concentration of VT added. The particle size of VT-MBP complexes, with a concentration of 180 μmol/g, was 3.4 times larger than that of MBP. The tertiary structure unfolded due to the non-covalent binding of the VT-MBP complexes, resulting in a decrease in the fluorescence intensity of MBP. The complexes formed by the VT-MBP interaction had altered structures that significantly enhanced their functional properties. Additionally, their emulsification gradually increased in proportion to the amount of VT. Moreover, the 60 μmol/g VT-MBP complexes exhibited higher solubility and total antioxidant capacity, which increased by 26.32% and 2.5 times, respectively. These findings suggest that the structural and functional properties of mung beans were modified by VT-MBP interactions during the processing of mung bean food, resulting in improved nutritional properties of mung beans.