Currently, feeding the ever-increasing global population (~1.07 % per year) with nutrient rich foods is the primary concern. The research community is showing more interest in exploring alternatives to animal protein sources owing to the increase in market prices, limited supply, environmental impact, ethical, and religious beliefs of consumers, and animal diseases associated with animal protein sources. With ever increasing demand for plant proteins, exploring novel protein sources is important. Moreover, sustainable plant protein sources must be identified to reduce the commercial burden on major soya and pea proteins, and reduce the dependency on animal protein. Guar seeds (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba L.) belong to leguminous family, and are majorly cultivated in the eastern and southern parts of Asia and U.S.A. It is a drought resistant crop and is an underutilized and sustainable crop with regards to protein (~ 27 %). Alkali extraction is the most commonly used method for protein isolation due to the low processing cost. However, alkaline pH can influence the techno-functional, structural homogeneity, and essential amino acid contents. Therefore, varying the alkaline pH might be a way forward to obtain high quality native protein. Isolated native proteins are however poor with respect to the food functionalities as they have lower solubility, low palatability, and low digestibility but can be improved by several methods, like heating and chemical modifications. To improve the functionality of native isolated proteins, novel techniques such as cold plasma and superheated steam treatment are gaining wider attention. Modified proteins with appropriate functionalities can be used in edible packaging materials. Therefore, the isolated and modified guar seed proteins will be utilized to develop edible coatings to improve the nutritional value, antioxidant properties, mechanical properties, and shelf life of model fruits/vegetables.
Keywords: Guar seed protein nutritional value modification cold plasma superheated steam edible coatings