In this era of rising obesity and diabetes, a major aim is to improve these innovative
food categories by dragging the attention towards the protein source which can fill the void essential with nutritional foods and reducing the risk of disease for overcoming this
alarming situation. The innovative food categories by dragging the attention towards the protein source which can fill the void, essential with nutritional foods and reducing the risk of disease for overcoming the alarming situation.
Functional foods are defined as the novel foods as they contain substances that have positive effects on health beyond basic nutrition. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), functional foods contain additive nutrients, other biocomponents that have an obvious good impact on health when consumed as part of a diet on a regular basis.
Functional foods can be classified into several categories, i.e., Probiotics and prebiotics, fortified foods, functional beverages, omega-3 fatty acids. The health benefits of functional foods include cardiovascular health, digestive health.
Smart proteins are alternative to the high functional food products. These smart proteins can replace animal derived meat, eggs and dairy products, for example- plant based meat and eggs and dairy materials made from plant or crop ingredients such as soy extracts, pea proteins, seaweed proteins. These smart proteins are the real adaptive form of the functional food which can revolutionize fields ranging from medical diagnostics to therapeutics, offering novel solutions to pressing the healthcare challenges.
Furthermore, their integration with artificial intelligence and machine learning could lead to the development of therapeutic systems, as it allows the modification of protein structures at the molecular level and increasing its potential towards specific health promoting effects.
Smart proteins can be represented as revolutionary advancements in biotechnology and support various aspects of health and wellbeing. They hold promise for enhancing public health and offers transformative potential in areas such as drug delivery and diagnostics. Ongoing research and technological advancements are likely to unlock new possibilities.

Sasmita Das

University/College name : College of Basic Science and Humanities, OUAT, Bhubaneswar