Seed Storage Proteins and Amino Acids Synthetic Pathways and Their Regulation in Cereals with Reference to Biologically and Nutritionally Important Proteins and Bioactive

Abstract

Although the food systems in developing countries have changed dramatically since the green revolution, malnutrition still remains a challenge and is now known to include the concurrent dimensions of under-nourishment and micronutrient deficiency as a serious issue in developing as well as developed countries. An average cereal protein value of 10% will give us the total cereal protein production of approximately 17 million tons annually. The accumulation of seed protein is a complicated characteristic and seed storage proteins are proteins that considerably accumulate in developing seed, whose principal role is to behave as the nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur storage reserve. These proteins are mobilized quickly during the germination of seeds and are the principal cause of nitrogen reduction to increasing plantings. In particular, the enzymatic functions of seed storage proteins are not known although proteins are structurally distinct in storage from various crops, they all have certain prevalent features. Plant storage proteins may be categorized into two categories; proteins from seed storage (SSPs) and plant storage (VSPs). SSPs are a group of proteins that accumulate in seeds at high concentrations in the late stages of seed development, whereas VSPs are protein accumulation in vegetative tissues, such as roots and tubers, based on plant species. SSPs are depleted during germination, and the subsequent amino acids are used as a food source by the growing seedlings. The most popular proteins in crops are the SSPs and the most commonly consumed plant proteins by human beings are crop proteins. Millets are considered as an enriched source of many essential amino acids derived from many quality proteins. According to World Health Organization, the proteins harboring more than 40% essential amino acids are called quality proteins and upon digestion and hydrolytic cleavage, several bioactive peptides having multiple health attributes are generated. In this chapter, we have briefly described about the proteins and peptides and their role in nutritional improvement present in millet