Han Kaining, Deng Zhuoyao, Feng Guangxin, Li Tanghao, Wan Zhili, Guo Jian, Yang Xiaoquan
School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
Laboratory of Food Proteins and Colloids, School of Food Science and Engineering, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Green Processing of Natural Products and Product Safety, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China.
Foods. 2025 Jun 12;14(12):2070. doi: 10.3390/foods14122070.
Given the well-documented health benefits of plant proteins, mung bean protein has gained increasing attention as a promising plant-based protein source; however, its biofunctional properties have not been fully recognized. This study aimed to evaluate the hepatic metabolic regulatory effects of dietary mung bean protein in murine models, considering the central role of hepatic metabolic homeostasis in systemic regulation. The results demonstrated that dietary mung bean protein, both native mung bean protein isolate (MPI) and heat-denatured mung bean protein isolate (DMPI), restored hepatic metabolic homeostasis, an effect mediated by bioactive microbial metabolites. Notably, our results demonstrated that heat-induced denaturation of mung bean protein markedly alters its gut microbiota-regulating activity. This was evidenced by the observation that MPI tended to increase the abundance of , whereas DMPI appeared to promote the growth of Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group in mice fed a normal diet. Moreover, both MPI and DMPI increased the abundance of potentially beneficial bacteria, such as , accompanied by reduced serum total cholesterol (TC) levels and intestinal inflammation in a high-fat diet mouse model. The increased abundance of beneficial bacteria was associated with elevated intestinal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) levels and restored metabolic levels of nonadecanoic acid, indole derivatives, and bile acid (BA) metabolites. Collectively, our results highlight that mung bean protein promotes hepatic metabolic benefits by orchestrating gut microbiota remodeling and modulating their metabolic outputs.
鉴于植物蛋白对健康有益已得到充分证明，绿豆蛋白作为一种有前景的植物性蛋白质来源越来越受到关注；然而，其生物功能特性尚未得到充分认识。本研究旨在评估日粮绿豆蛋白对小鼠模型肝脏代谢的调节作用，考虑到肝脏代谢稳态在全身调节中的核心作用。结果表明，日粮绿豆蛋白，无论是天然绿豆分离蛋白（MPI）还是热变性绿豆分离蛋白（DMPI），都能恢复肝脏代谢稳态，这一作用由生物活性微生物代谢产物介导。值得注意的是，我们的结果表明，绿豆蛋白的热诱导变性显著改变了其调节肠道微生物群的活性。这一点在观察中得到了证明，即MPI倾向于增加某菌属的丰度，而DMPI似乎促进了正常饮食小鼠中毛螺菌科_NK4A136_组（Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group）的生长。此外，在高脂饮食小鼠模型中，MPI和DMPI都增加了潜在有益细菌的丰度，如某菌属，同时降低了血清总胆固醇（TC）水平和肠道炎症。有益细菌丰度的增加与肠道短链脂肪酸（SCFA）水平升高以及壬酸、吲哚衍生物和胆汁酸（BA）代谢产物的代谢水平恢复有关。总的来说，我们的结果表明，绿豆蛋白通过协调肠道微生物群重塑和调节其代谢产物来促进肝脏代谢益处。
