Proteomics in Understanding the Molecular Basis of Phytochemicals for Health

Functional foods with health benefits have been increasingly recognized as a potential solution for health improvement and disease prevention. Phytochemicals, plant-derived natural compounds, are at the center of the increasing attention toward bioactive food components as accumulating evidence suggests their medicinal value via their molecular regulatory effects. Intensive research continues to uncover the potential of phytochemicals as key ingredients in novel medicines by determining their mode of action and molecular targets. Recent omics-based analytic methods including genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics are rapidly being developed and emerging techniques in phytochemical research. Proteomics in phytochemical research analyzes changes in proteomes in the presence of phytochemicals to discover their interactions. With recent findings indicating a direct interaction between phytochemicals and cellular signaling proteins in pathogenic pathways, the analysis from a proteomic perspective is essential for a comprehensive understanding of phytochemicals' action mechanisms. By expediting the identification of molecular target proteins responsible for the action of phytochemicals, proteomics serves as a valuable tool toward understanding the health implication of phytochemicals and can further assess their potential application and utilization for the benefit of human health. In this chapter, we focus on the current proteomics approaches in phytochemical research for health and chronic diseases, including cancer, metabolic disease, and neurodegenerative diseases.