Dietary Proteins as Determinants of Metabolic and Physiologic Functions of the Gastrointestinal Tract.docVIP

Nutrients 2011, 3, 574-603; doi:10.3390/nu3050574 OPEN ACCESS nutrients ISSN 2072-6643 /journal/nutrients Review Dietary Proteins as Determinants of Metabolic and Physiologic Functions of the Gastrointestinal Tract Alireza Jahan-Mihan, Bohdan L. Luhovyy, Dalia El Khoury and G. Harvey Anderson * Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E2, Canada; E-Mails: alireza.jahanmihan@utoronto.ca (A.J.-M.); bohdan.luhovyy@utoronto.ca (B.L.L.); dalia.elkhoury@utoronto.ca (D.E.K.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: harvey.anderson@utoronto.ca; Tel.: +1-416-978-1832; Fax: +1-416-978-5882. Received: 30 March 2011; in revised form: 29 April 2011 / Accepted: 9 May 2011 / Published: 11 May 2011 Abstract: Dietary proteins elicit a wide range of nutritional and biological functions. Beyond their nutritional role as the source of amino acids for protein synthesis, they are instrumental in the regulation of food intake, glucose and lipid metabolism, blood pressure, bone metabolism and immune function. The interaction of dietary proteins and their products of digestion with the regulatory functions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract plays a dominant role in determining the physiological properties of proteins. The site of interaction is widespread, from the oral cavity to the colon. The characteristics of proteins that influence their interaction with the GI tract in a source-dependent manner include their physico-chemical properties, their amino acid composition and sequence, their bioactive peptides, their digestion kinetics and also the non-protein bioactive components conjugated with them. Within the GI tract, these products affect several regulatory functions by interacting with receptors releasing hormones, affecting stomach emptying and GI transport and absorption, transmitting neural signals to the bra