Abstract: Polyphenols, as plant secondary metabolites, possess various biological activities such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects. Plant proteins, owing to their wide availability, nutritional richness, and environmental sustainability, exhibit great application potential in the food and pharmaceutical fields. Interactions between polyphenols and plant proteins significantly modulate the structure and functional properties of their complexes, providing a theoretical foundation for constructing efficient nano-delivery systems. This article systematically reviews the fundamental characteristics of polyphenols and plant proteins, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms of the non-covalent and covalent interactions between them. It further analyzes the influencing factors and research methods of polyphenol-plant protein interactions. On this basis, the application status of polyphenol-plant protein complexes in nano-delivery systems is discussed. This review aims to offer a reference for further research on polyphenol-plant protein complexes and their applications in food science and biomedicine.

Key words: polyphenols; plant proteins; complexes; interaction mechanism; nano-delivery systems