Functionality of Plant Proteins

Dr. Janitha Wanasundara is a Senior Research Scientist at the Saskatoon Research and Development Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) while affiliating as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada. She holds a doctorate in Food Science and has over 25 years of experience in the food chemistry, protein chemistry and food technology areas as a researcher and a university level educator. Dr. Wanasundara’s research efforts are to understand seed proteins for their optimum use in supporting environmentally sustainable healthy foods and renewable bioproducts. Dr. Wanasundara has contributed to more than 85 peer reviewed publications and book chapters in the field of food science and holds a patent on protein processing of Brassicaceae oilseeds. She has been involved in organizing various scientific conferences and made presentations and webinars on science and technology relevant for the developing plant protein industry. Dr. Wanasundara is a Certified Food Scientist. Dr. Christophe Schmitt is a Protein Expert Scientist at Nestlé Research Lausanne, Switzerland. He holds a doctorate in Biotechnology and Food Processing and has contributed over 150 peer reviewed publications, book chapters and presentations in the area of food protein structure and functionality. He is co-inventor of more than 60 patent applications in the field of protein functionality applied to food and serves the advisory board of several plant-based foods and proteins projects and global initiatives. Dr. Buddhi Lamsal is a Professor at the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, Iowa State University. He holds a Doctorate in Agricultural Engineering with food processing emphasis from University of Wisconsin- Madison, WI. He has contributed over 90 peer reviewed journal publications, several book chapters and presentations in the area of plant protein extraction processes, their impact on protein quality and broader range of ingredient functionality, and protein modification. He is an active member of scientific professional societies, AOCS and IFT.

SECTION I. Proteins of plant sources and fundamentals of protein product development
1. Proteins of plant sources and fundamentals of protein product development
2. Processing of protein ingredients from plant sources
3. Functionality of plant proteins and importance of aggregation state
4. Probing structure-function relationship of proteins with molecular modeling
SECTION II. Methods of plant protein processing
5. Hydrodynamic properties I: Protein-water interactions; solubility, wettability, dispersibility, water binding/adsorption
6. Hydrodynamic properties II: Protein-water-Protein interaction; Viscosity and Gelation
7. The interfacial activity of plant proteins: theory, assessment and application in emulsion development
8. Hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface activity II: Foaming properties (air/water interface stabilization)
9. Hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface activity III: Interactions with other micro- and macro- molecules
10. Protein complexation with carbohydrates and lipids
11. Nutritional properties: Protein quality assessment parameters and methods
SECTION III. Functionality of proteins
12. Enzymatic modification of plant proteins: influence on functional properties, allergenicity, and bioactivity
13. Physical modification
SECTION IV. Protein functionality in food applications
14. Plant proteins for dry extruded products
15. Plant proteins for meat analogues
16. Plant proteins for dairy analogues
SECTION V. Challenges for plant-based protein ingredients and future path
17. Allergenicity of plant proteins
18. Anti-nutritional factors (ANFs) in protein-rich plant products: Chemistry, occurrence, nutritional implications, and their analysis
19. Challenges of plant protein processing and protein ingredient functionality assessment