** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** OILSEED-DERIVED MEALS ARE BYPRODUCTS OF THE SEED OIL EXTRACTION PROCESS. CERTAIN OILSEED MEALS, SUCH AS SUNFLOWER MEAL, HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO SERVE AS ECONOMICALLY VIABLE PROTEIN SOURCES WITH MINIMAL ALLERGENIC PROPERTIES. HOWEVER, THESE OILSEED MEALS ARE OFTEN UNDERUTILIZED AS PROTEIN SOURCES DUE TO THEIR LOWER NUTRITIONAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND SENSORY QUALITIES, LEADING TO UNDESIRABLE TASTE AND APPEARANCE. PLANT PROTEINS HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BIND TO ANTIOXIDANT POLYPHENOL COMPOUNDS, WHICH CAN AFFECT THE PROTEINS' PROPERTIES. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THIS RESEARCH IS TO EXAMINE THE IMPACT OF PROTEIN-POLYPHENOL INTERACTIONS ON THE STRUCTURE, FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES, AND NUTRITIONAL VALUE OF OILSEED PROTEIN ISOLATES. BY INVESTIGATING AND CONTROLLING THESE INTERACTIONS, WE AIM TO ENHANCE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF SUNFLOWER PROTEIN ISOLATES AND CONCENTRATES. THE MODULATION OF SUNFLOWER PROTEIN-POLYPHENOL INTERACTIONS WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED USING CHEMICAL AND ENZYMATIC APPROACHES. WE WILL THEN INCORPORATE THE OILSEED PROTEIN POWDERS INTO BAKED PRODUCTS AND DIFFERENT FOOD MODEL SYSTEMS SUCH AS EMULSIONS AND GELS TO DETERMINE HOW MODIFICATION OF THE PROTEINS ENHANCES THE QUALITY OF THE FOOD PRODUCTS. THE STUDY WILL FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE EFFECT OF POLYPHENOL TYPE AND CONCENTRATION AND THE MODIFIED PROTEINS ON THE FORMATION OF ADVANCED GLYCATION END-PRODUCTS (AGES), WHICH ARE A DIVERSE GROUP OF COMPOUNDS PRODUCED DURING HIGH-TEMPERATURE FOOD PROCESSES LIKE BAKING. THESE AGE COMPOUNDS HAVE BEEN LINKED TO MANY AGE-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES. OUR RESEARCH FINDINGS WILL HELP FURTHER THE GOALS OF NIFA PROGRAM CODE A1364 BY EXPANDING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PLANT PROTEINS' CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL, AND NUTRITIONAL PROPERTIES. ADDITIONALLY, THIS PROJECT WILL DRIVE INNOVATION IN THE ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN SECTOR BY PRODUCING NEW, HIGH-QUALITY INGREDIENTS AND PRODUCTS. ULTIMATELY, THIS WILL ENABLE THE UPCYCLING OF OILSEED BYPRODUCTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY NOT FULLY UTILIZED IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY.