Research progress of RuBisCO, a new plant protein source.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) is an essential enzyme that plays a vital role in plants by regulating carbon assimilation rate and the process of photorespiration. It is responsible for about 15% of soluble leaf proteins in C4 plants like maize and sorghum, while making up over 50% of total nitrogen in C3 plants such as wheat, tobacco, and alfalfa. RuBisCO has a molecular weight of approximately 560 kDa and consists of 8 large subunits and 8 small subunits. Its shape can be either spherical or cylindrical, and it can undergo subunit dissociation under specific conditions. However, the current methods for extracting RuBisCO have several issues, including high cost, low efficiency, and complex technology. To address these problems, it is important to ensure strict control over the quality of raw materials, develop extraction and purification methods that are both economically viable and of high quality, and explore the possibility of developing additional by-products. From a physicochemical perspective, RuBisCO exhibits excellent solubility, emulsifying capacity, foaming capacity, and can even form brittle gels allow concentrations, highlighting its significant application potential. In terms of nutritional and functional characteristics, RuBisCO is rich in essential amino acids, and its derived peptides have demonstrated health-promoting functions in laboratory studies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the sources, structure, extraction process, physicochemical properties, nutritional and functional characteristics of RuBisCO. It also suggests future research directions and discusses the potential applications of RuBisCO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]