@article{
author = "Gligorijević, Nikola and Jovanović, Zorana and Cvijetić, Ilija and Šunderić, Miloš and Veličković, Luka and Katrlík, Jaroslav and Holazová, Alena and Nikolić, Milan and Minić, Simeon",
year = "2024",
abstract = "Blue C-phycocyanin (C-PC), the major Spirulina protein with innumerable
health-promoting benefits, is an attractive colourant and food supplement. A crucial obstacle to its
more extensive use is its relatively low stability. This study aimed to screen various food-derived
ligands for their ability to bind and stabilise C-PC, utilising spectroscopic techniques and molecular
docking. Among twelve examined ligands, the protein fluorescence quenching revealed that
only quercetin, coenzyme Q10 and resveratrol had a moderate affinity to C-PC (Ka of 2.2 to 3.7 × 105
M–1). Docking revealed these three ligands bind more strongly to the C-PC hexamer than the trimer,
with the binding sites located at the interface of two (αβ)3 trimers. UV/VIS absorption spectroscopy
demonstrated the changes in the C-PC absorption spectra in a complex with quercetin
and resveratrol compared to the spectra of free protein and ligands. Selected ligands did not affect
the secondary structure content, but they induced changes in the tertiary protein structure in the
CD study. A fluorescence-based thermal stability assay demonstrated quercetin and coenzyme Q10
increased the C-PC melting point by nearly 5 °C. Our study identified food-derived ligands that
interact with C-PC and improve its thermal stability, indicating their potential as stabilising agents
for C-PC in the food industry.",
publisher = "MDPI",
journal = "International Journal of Molecular Sciences",
title = "Investigation of the Potential of Selected Food-Derived Antioxidants to Bind and Stabilise the Bioactive Blue Protein C-Phycocyanin from Cyanobacteria Spirulina",
volume = "25",
number = "1",
pages = "229",
doi = "10.3390/ijms25010229"
}