Drought is one of the major environmental stressors, affecting crop productivity. Plant response to dehydration is accompanied with metabolic chamges, oxidative stress and enhanced generation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), which are known to be proinflammatory in mammals, impacting on the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus and ageing. The proteinrich seeds of legumes might be a target of such deleterious changes. However, the effects of droughtrelated protein damage on the quality of crops, as well as its influence on human health are still unstudied. Therefore, here we address the changes in seed quality, metabolome, protein AGE contents and nutritional properties of pea accompanying shortterm drought, applied at the step of seed maturation. For this, pea plants were grown on vermiculite for six weeks before transfer to aqueous medium, to which five days later polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG8000) was supplemented. Two days later, the plants were transferred to PEGfree substrate and grown till the end of seed maturation. After evaluation of seed quality, seed metabolites were analyzed by GC and LCMS. Modulation of
inflammation was evaluated with corresponding exhaustive enzymatic hydrolyzates in the model of human neuroblastoma cell line SHSY5Y. For this, dynamics of proteins involved in inflammationrelated signaling was assessed by Luminex xMAP multiparametric immunofluorescence technology. In parallel, profiles of individual AGEs were addressed in the same hydrolyzates by LCMS/MS. Although no effect on AGE profiles was observed, clear alterations in primary metabolome and regulatory response were observed. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No 171601042).
