This study investigates the enzymatic hydrolysis of soybean (Glycine max L.) and mung bean (Vigna radiata) proteins using bromelain, ficin, papain, and pepsin to improve digestibility and functional properties. We hypothesized that mung bean's less compact structure would yield higher degree of hydrolysis (DH) and bioactive peptides compared to soybean, enhancing antioxidant capacity for functional foods. Mung bean showed significantly higher proteolysis, with a maximum DH of 46.5 ± 2.1 % (p ≤ 0.05) using 10 % bromelain for 12 h, versus soybean's 26.9 ± 1.5 % (p ≤ 0.05). Bromelain and ficin outperformed papain and pepsin, producing up to 62.3 ± 3.2 % oligopeptides and 32.4 g/100 g free amino acids in mung bean. Mung bean hydrolysates exhibited superior antioxidant activity, reaching 78.4 ± 2.5 % DPPH scavenging (p ≤ 0.05), compared to soybean's 58.9 ± 2.0 % (p ≤ 0.05), due to increased 200–1000 Da peptides. Optimal conditions (10 % enzyme, 12 h) improved solubility and bioactivity, highlighting mung bean's potential and bromelain's efficacy for sustainable food applications, warranting further protease research.

Antioxidants play a crucial role in mitigating oxidative stress and preventing cellular damage caused by free radicals. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of three antioxidant assays—DPPH, TEAC, and FRAP—in quantifying the antioxidant capacity of 15 plant-based spices, herbs, and food materials from five distinct plant families. The relationship between these assays and total polyphenol content (TPC) as well as total flavonoid content (TFC) was also investigated. The results showed that FRAP exhibited the strongest correlation with TPC (r = 0.913), followed by TEAC (r = 0.856) and DPPH (r = 0.772). Lamiaceae species, such as rosemary and thyme, consistently demonstrated high antioxidant activities across all assays. The study highlights the complementary nature of these assays in assessing antioxidant capacity and underscores their utility in profiling polyphenol- and flavonoid-rich plants for potential nutritional and therapeutic applications.