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Ginkgo Seed Proteins: Characteristics, Functional Properties and Bioactivities

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Abstract

Ginkgo biloba L. is an ancient plant relic, which is known as a “living fossil”, and is widely cultivated in China. This plant with medical potential and health benefits has drawn the attention of researchers. Ginkgo seeds are rich in protein. Ginkgo seed proteins (GSPs) have good functional properties over many other seed proteins, which have the potential to be utilized as food ingredients. Moreover, GSP contains no restricted amino acids and is easy to be separated. Several GSP isolate with various bioactivities, such as antimicrobial and antioxidative activities, have been purified and evaluated for their bioactive potential. In this review, the separation methods and bioactivities of GSP were summarized, physicochemical characteristics and functional properties were comprehensively reviewed and compared with other seed proteins. Some food applications of GSP were also briefly introduced. Besides, some suggestions and prospects were discussed in this review.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the “National Key R & D Program of China (2017YFD0600701)” and the “China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2016M600417 and 2017T100373)”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Co-Innovation Center for the Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Wanning Liu, Minmin Zou, Yaosong Wang, Fuliang Cao & Erzheng Su

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Wanning Liu, Minmin Zou, Yaosong Wang & Erzheng Su

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Liu, W., Zou, M., Wang, Y. et al. Ginkgo Seed Proteins: Characteristics, Functional Properties and Bioactivities. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 76, 281–291 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-021-00916-5

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