Applicative effect of glycinin basic polypeptide in fresh wet noodles and antifungal characteristics

- Glycinin basic peptide (GBP) enhanced sensory properties of fresh wet noodles.
- GBP exhibited strong antifungal activity against A. niger and Penicillium sp.
- GBP inhibited mycelial growth of A. niger and Penicillium sp.
- GBP inhibited notably the spore germination of A. niger and Penicillium sp.
- GBP inhibited ergosterol synthesis of A. niger and Penicillium sp.

We aimed to evaluate applicative effect of glycinin basic polypeptide (GBP) on fresh wet noodles during 5 days storage at 4 °C and to investigate its antifungal characteristics against Aspergillus niger (A. niger) and Penicillium sp.. GBP enhanced the sensory scores for fresh wet noodles and reduced the total plate count of fungi in a dose-dependent manner during storage. More than 2.0 mg/g GBP had well preservative effect on fresh wet noodles with 4 days shelf life at 4 °C. The inhibition zone diameters for A. niger and Penicillium sp. increased with increasing GBP concentration. The minimum inhibition concentrations of GBP against A. niger and Penicillium sp. were 2.0 and 1.5 mg/mL, respectively. GBP could effectively inhibit mycelial growth and spore germination of A. niger and Penicillium sp.. The ergosterol content (EC) in the fungal plasma membrane decreased with the increase in GBP concentration. What is more, EC of fungi with 2.4 mg/mL GBP had significant different from other concentrations of GBP (p < 0.05). Thus, GBP had remarkable antifungal effects by inhibiting growth of mycelium and spore germination, and disrupting the plasma membrane of fungi. GBP might be an alternative to synthetic antifungal preservatives in starchy food to extend shelf life.