Start with the About page
Understand what FoodProt is: a plant-protein-only functionality database that brings scattered literature and experimental results into one comparable, structured format.
FoodProt Help & Guides
How to browse, interpret, contribute, analyze, and export plant protein functionality data in FoodProt.
Getting started
New to FoodProt? Work through these in order.
Use the FoodProt Hub
The Hub is the map of the platform. It links every workflow: browsing, contributing, reviewing, analyzing, and exporting.
Browse approved data
Browse Data is a spreadsheet-style grid of approved plant protein measurements. Each row is one measured result linked to its source article and its method.
Ask FoodProt
Ask a plain-language question about the database. Ask FoodProt searches approved, in-scope records and reports stored values with their citation and method. It understands protein synonyms - 'pea protein' also finds 'Pea protein isolate' - and measurement synonyms such as 'WHC' for 'Water holding capacity', and it matches concentrations written as '10%' or '10 percent'. It is a database search assistant: it does not generate or estimate numbers, and if nothing matches it says so rather than guessing.
Browsing and interpreting data
Browse Data behaves like a scientific spreadsheet. These are the controls.
Find in view
The search box scans the loaded view across protein, citation, DOI, article title, authors, treatments, additives, functionality category, and measurement name. Use the X to clear it.
Show / hide fields
FoodProt stores far more fields than fit on one screen. Open Hide fields to see the full catalog grouped by section: Source, Core sample, Treatment, Additives, pH and ionic environment, Gel preparation and storage, Measurement result, Statistics and extraction, Review and metadata. Search the catalog, toggle sections, or press Reset view to return to defaults. Checked fields are visible.
Filter, group, and sort
Filter builds AND conditions with text and numeric operators. Group collapses rows by protein, functionality category, measurement name, treatment, data status, article, salt type, or year. Sort by clicking a column header or by building a multi-field sort.
Density, full screen, and print
Row height can be set to Short, Medium, Tall, or Extra Tall, and headers can wrap. Full screen expands the grid. Print view produces a clean, page-break-friendly table with a timestamp and a summary of the active filters.
Colour rules
The Colour button tints the category or status pill and adds a thin row accent - by functionality category, data status, quality flag, scope status, or protein source. Colour is a cue, never a full-row wash, so the grid stays readable and prints cleanly. Reset colours restores the default.
Saved views and Share view
Views save your grid configuration - visible fields, filters, sort, group, colour, density - not the data itself. Save a personal view, duplicate or rename it; editors and admins can publish a shared lab view. Share view copies a read-only link that reproduces the configuration. A link grants no extra access: whoever opens it still sees only the records their own role permits, so a public visitor gets approved, in-scope plant protein records only.
Download CSV and Excel
The More menu and the grid footer export exactly what you are looking at: the current filters, sort, and visible columns.
Column controls
Drag a column header to reorder it, or use the caret menu on any header: sort, filter by values, filter by condition, hide the field, move it left or right, pin it, copy its values, or read its field info. Column order and pinning are personal view preferences saved in your browser - they never change the database.
Open record details
Click any row to open the detail drawer: the source article, the full sample and treatment context, the measurement, and the method fields relevant to that functionality category.
Contributing data
Contribution is role-based. Public visitors can read; contributors and editors can submit.
Upload literature or spreadsheet data
Upload accepts CSV, TSV, XLS, and XLSX. You then map each spreadsheet column to a FoodProt field: article/source, core record, measurement result, or method metadata.
Add one record manually
Add record is the form path for a single measurement: source article, protein system, treatments, additives, pH and ionic environment, gel preparation, the measurement result, and the method details for that assay.
Review import batches
Every upload becomes a batch you can inspect row by row before anything is committed, with validation and duplicate warnings.
Review and approve data
Reviewers work the queue: pending records are checked for accuracy and scope, then approved or sent back. Only approved, in-scope records become public.
Understanding protein functionality terms
FoodProt uses one taxonomy across the whole platform. Category is what kind of property was measured; measurement name is the specific property.
Texture Profile Analysis, TPA
A two-cycle compression test on a protein gel. Outputs recorded when the article reports them: Hardness, Cohesiveness, Springiness, Gumminess, Chewiness, Adhesiveness, Resilience, and Fracturability. The method fields capture instrument/model, probe type and diameter, sample shape/size/diameter/height, test mode, compression strain or distance (deformation), test speed, pre- and post-test (return) speed, trigger force, cycles, time between compressions, equilibration before testing, and measurement temperature. Record the exact condition reported by the article: values obtained under different conditions may not be directly comparable.
Texture/mechanical gel property
Gel strength, Gel firmness, Gel hardness, Breaking force, Rupture force. These describe the mechanical strength of a formed gel and are kept separate from the TPA cycle parameters.
Water holding and water binding
Water holding capacity, Water absorption capacity, Water binding capacity, Swelling capacity, Hydration capacity. In FoodProt, water holding capacity is always stored as a percentage. Centrifugation speed, time, and temperature strongly affect the reported number.
Oil holding and oil binding
Oil holding capacity, Oil absorption capacity, Oil binding capacity, Fat absorption capacity. Oil type and the mixing/standing step affect comparability.
Solubility
Protein solubility, Nitrogen solubility index, Protein dispersibility index, Soluble protein content. Values depend on pH, buffer, and the protein quantification method used.
Emulsifying properties
Emulsifying activity, Emulsifying activity index, Emulsifying capacity, Emulsion stability, Emulsion stability index, Creaming index. Homogenization method, oil fraction, and absorbance wavelength all shift the result.
Foaming properties
Foaming capacity, Foaming ability, Foaming stability, Foam expansion, Foam overrun. Foam generation method and mixing speed are central to interpretation.
Gelation
Least gelation concentration, Minimum gelation concentration, Critical gel concentration, Gelation temperature, Gelation time, Gel point, Gel-forming ability, Gelling capacity. Gel point belongs here, not under rheology.
Viscosity and flow behavior
Apparent viscosity, Dynamic viscosity, Shear viscosity, Consistency coefficient, Flow behavior index, and — only when the article reports them — Yield stress, Shear stress, Shear rate. Shear rate and temperature must be known for a viscosity value to mean anything.
Rheological properties
Storage modulus, Loss modulus, Loss tangent, Complex modulus, Complex viscosity, Linear viscoelastic region, and Critical strain when reported. Frequency, strain, and temperature profile define the measurement.
Thermal properties
Denaturation temperature, Onset temperature, Peak temperature, Endset temperature, Enthalpy, Thermal stability, and Glass transition temperature when reported. Heating rate and moisture content matter.
Characterization data
FTIR spectra, Secondary structure (alpha-helix, beta-sheet, random coil, beta-turn), Surface hydrophobicity, Zeta potential, Particle size, Molecular weight, SDS-PAGE band profile, SE-HPLC profile, Free sulfhydryl group, Disulfide bond, Intrinsic fluorescence, Microstructure, SEM and confocal images, LF-NMR water distribution. These are not functionality measurements themselves, but they explain why a protein behaves the way it does.
Analysis and export
Create figures and statistical summaries
Analytics builds charts from real database values only. Choose a functionality category, measurement, protein, treatment, or pH range. If no data match, you get an empty state rather than a placeholder chart.
Export datasets
Export supports CSV, TSV, Excel, and JSON, scoped by article, protein, or functionality. You can export the visible view or all columns, and optionally include method metadata as a measurement-level export.
Understand data quality and field definitions
The data dictionary defines every field, and the data quality page flags records with missing or suspicious values.
Scope, privacy, and data quality
FoodProt is plant-protein only
Public records, Browse Data, Ask FoodProt, Analytics, and default exports contain plant protein records only. Non-plant records that entered the database earlier are retained for provenance but marked out of scope and excluded from every public surface.
Only approved records are public
Pending, rejected, and draft records are not visible to the public. Private reviewer notes are never exposed publicly or in exports.
Method differences affect comparability
Two water holding capacity values are not automatically comparable: one may come from 10,000 x g for 20 min at 4 C and another from 6,000 x g for 20 min. Always open the method section before comparing numbers across papers.
Ask FoodProt does not invent values
Ask FoodProt is grounded in the database. Every number it shows is read from a stored, approved record, with its citation. If nothing matches, it says so rather than guessing.