Enzymatic hydrolysis of heat-induced aggregates of whey protein isolate

From lab-based to in-line: Analytical tools for the characterization of whey protein denaturation and aggregation-A review

Whey protein denaturation and aggregation have long been areas of research interest to the dairy industry, having significant implications for process performance and final product functionality and quality. As such, a significant number of analytical techniques have been developed or adapted to assess and characterize levels of whey protein denaturation and aggregation, to either maximize processing efficiency or create products with enhanced functionality (both technological and biological). This review aims to collate and critique these approaches based on their analytical principles and outline their application for the assessment of denaturation and aggregation. This review also provides insights into recent developments in process analytical technologies relating to whey protein denaturation and aggregation, whereby some of the analytical methods have been adapted to enable measurements in-line. Developments in this area will enable more live, in-process data to be generated, which will subsequently allow more adaptive processing, enabling improved product quality and processing efficiency. Along with the applicability of these techniques for the assessment of whey protein denaturation and aggregation, limitations are also presented to help assess the suitability of each analytical technique for specific areas of interest.

Whey proteins as multifunctional food materials: Recent advancements in hydrolysis, separation, and peptidomimetic approaches

Whey protein derived bioactives, including α-lactalbumin, ß-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin, lactoferrin, transferrin, and proteose-peptones, have exhibited wide ranges of functional, biological and therapeutic properties varying from anticancer, antihypertensive, and antimicrobial effects. In addition, their functional properties involve gelling, emulsifying, and foaming abilities. For these reasons, this review article is framed to understand the relationship existed in between those compound levels and structures with their main functional, biological, and therapeutic properties exhibited either in vitro or in vivo. The impacts of hydrolysis mechanism and separation techniques in enhancing those properties are likewise discussed. Furthermore, special emphasize is given to multifunctional effects of whey derived bioactives and their future trends in ameliorating further food, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical products. The underlying mechanism effects of those properties are still remained unclear in terms of activity levels, efficacy, and targeted effectiveness. For these reasons, some important models linking to functional properties, thermal properties and cell circumstances are established. Moreover, the coexistence of radical trapping groups, chelating groups, sulfhydryl groups, inhibitory groups, and peptide bonds seemed to be the key elements in triggering those functions and properties. Practical Application: Whey proteins are the byproducts of cheese processing and usually the exploitation of these food waste products has increasingly getting acceptance in many countries, especially European countries. Whey proteins share comparable nutritive values to milk products, particularly on their richness on important proteins that can serve immune protection, structural, and energetic roles. The nutritive profile of whey proteins shows diverse type of bioactive molecules like α-lactalbumin, ß-lactoglobulin, lactoferrin, transferrin, immunoglobulin, and proteose peptones with wide biological importance to the living system, such as in maintaining immunological, neuronal, and signaling roles. The diversification of proteins of whey products prompted scientists to exploit the real mechanisms behind of their biological and therapeutic effects, especially in declining the risk of cancer, tumor, and further complications like diabetes type 2 and hypertension risk effects. For these reasons, profiling these types of proteins using different proteomic and peptidomic approaches helps in determining their biological and therapeutic targets along with their release into gastrointestinal tract conditions and their bioavailabilities into portal circulation, tissue, and organs. The wide applicability of those protein fractions and their derivative bioactive products showed significant impacts in the field of emulsion and double emulsion stabilization by playing roles as emulsifying, surfactant, stabilizing, and foaming agents. Their amphoteric properties helped them to act as excellent encapsulating agents, particularly as vehicle for delivering important vitamins and bioactive compounds. The presence of ferric elements increased their transportation to several metal-ions in the same time increased their scavenging effects to metal-transition and peroxidation of lipids. Their richness with almost essential and nonessential amino acids makes them as selective microbial starters, in addition their richness in sulfhydryl amino acids allowed them to act a cross-linker in conjugating further biomolecules. For instance, conjugating gold-nanoparticles and fluorescent materials in targeting diseases like cancer and tumors in vivo is considered the cutting-edges strategies for these versatile molecules due to their active diffusion across-cell membrane and the presence of specific transporters to these therapeutic molecules.

Physicochemical and Functional Properties of Thermal-Induced Polymerized Goat Milk Whey Protein

Goat milk whey protein products are a hard-to-source commodity. Whey protein concentrate was directly prepared from fresh goat milk. The effects of the heating temperature (69-78 °C), time (15-30 min), and pH (7.5-7.9) on the physicochemical and functional properties of the goat milk whey protein were investigated. The results showed that the particle size of the samples significantly increased (p < 0.05) after heat treatment. The zeta potential of polymerized goat milk whey protein (PGWP) was lower than that of native goat milk whey protein. The content of the free sulfhydryl groups of PGWP decreased with increasing heating temperature and time, while an increase in surface hydrophobicity and apparent viscosity of PGWP were observed after heat treatment. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy analysis indicated that heat treatment and pH had considerable impacts on the secondary structure of goat milk whey protein. Transmission electron microscope images revealed that heat induced the formation of a large and uniform protein network. Additionally, the changes in the physicochemical and structural properties contributed to the improvement of the emulsifying and foaming properties of goat milk whey protein after heat treatment. The results may provide a theoretical basis for the applications of polymerized goat milk whey protein in related products.

Recent and novel processing technologies coupled with enzymatic hydrolysis to enhance the production of antioxidant peptides from food proteins: A review

Antioxidant peptides obtained through enzymatic hydrolysis of food proteins exhibit a broad range of bioactivities both in vitro and in vivo models. The antioxidant peptides showed the potential to fight against the reactive oxygen species, free radicals and other pro-oxidative substances which are considered the source of various chronic diseases for humans. Both animals and plants have been recognized as natural protein sources and attracted much research interest over the synthetic ones in terms of safety. However, the main challenge remains to increase the antioxidant peptides yield, reduce the enzyme quantity and the reaction time. Consequently, different efficient and innovative food processing technologies such as thermal, ultrasound, microwave, high hydrostatic pressure, pulsed electric field, etc. have been developed and currently used to treat food proteins before (pretreatment) or during the enzymatic hydrolysis (assisted). Those technologies were found to significantly enhance the degree of hydrolysis and the production of substantial antioxidant peptides. These emerging technologies enhance the enzymatic hydrolysis by inducing protein denaturation/unfolding, and the enzymatic activation without altering their functional and nutritional properties. This review discusses the state of the art of thermal, ultrasound, high hydrostatic pressure, microwave, and pulsed electric field techniques, their applications while coupled with enzymatic hydrolysis, their comparison and potential challenges for the production of antioxidant peptides from food proteins.

Wahab N. In Vitro Infant Digestion of Whey Proteins Isolate-Lactose

The model in vitro protein digestion technique has received greater attention due to providing significant advantages compared to in vivo experiments. This research employed an in vitro infant digestive static model to examine the protein digestibility of whey proteins isolate-lactose (WPI-Lac). The polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) pattern for alpha-lactalbumin of WPI at 60 min showed no detectable bands, while the alpha-lactalbumin of the WPI-Lac was completely digested after 5 min of gastric digestion. The beta-lactoglobulin of the WPI-Lac was found to be similar to the beta-lactoglobulin of the WPI, being insignificant at pH 3.0. The alpha-lactalbumin of the WPI decreased after 100 min of duodenal digestion at pH 6.5, and the WPI-Lac was completely digested after 60 min. The peptides were identified as ~2 kilodalton (kDa) in conjugated protein, which indicated that the level of degradation of the protein was high, due to the hydrolysis progress. The conjugated protein increased the responsiveness to digestive proteolysis, potentially leading to the release of immunogenic protein by lactose, and to the creation of hypoallergenic protein.

Impact of Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Heat Inactivation on the Physicochemical Properties of Milk Protein Hydrolysates

This study determined the physicochemical properties (apparent viscosity (ηapp), turbidity (A550nm), particle size and molecular mass distribution) of hydrolysates generated from whey protein concentrate (WPC), milk protein concentrate (MPC) and sodium caseinate (NaCN), following incubation with Debitrase HYW20™ and Prolyve™ at 50 °C, pH 7.0 for 1 and 4 h, before and after heat inactivation (80 °C for 10 min). The degree of hydrolysis (DH) increased with incubation time, giving values of 6.56%, 8.17% and 9.48%, following 1 h hydrolysis of WPC, MPC and NaCN with Debitrase HYW20™, and 12.04%, 15.74% and 17.78%, respectively, following 4 h incubation. These DHs were significantly higher compared to those obtained following 4 h incubation with Prolyve™. Hydrolysis with Debitrase HYW20™ gave >40% of peptides with molecular masses < 1 kDa for all substrates, which was higher than the value obtained following hydrolysis with Prolyve™. The effect of hydrolysis on the physicochemical properties was substrate dependent, since ηapp decreased in WPC and NaCN hydrolysates, particle size decreased for all the substrates, with aggregate formation for MPC, and turbidity decreased in WPC and MPC hydrolysates, while it increased in NaCN hydrolysates. The physical properties of the hydrolysates were influenced by the enzyme thermal inactivation step in a DH-dependent manner, with no significant effect on turbidity and viscosity for hydrolysates at higher DHs.

Comparison of conventional heat-treated and membrane filtered infant formula using an in vitro semi-dynamic digestion method

Introducing membrane filtration steps into infant milk formula (IMF) manufacture can partly preserve native whey proteins in the final products. In this study, IMF produced by membrane filtration (MEM-IMF) and...

Industrial biotransformations catalyzed by microbial lipases: screening platform and commercial aspects

The successfulness of a lipase-catalyzed industrial process depends on a proper lipase selection. In this work, an alternative screening platform for industrially important biotransformations catalyzed by microbial lipases was proposed. Thus, the reactivity of sixty lipase activities from spore-forming microorganisms towards hydrolytic and transesterification reactions by using p-nitrophenyl palmitate as a chromogenic acyl donor substrate was explored. Only three biocatalysts were capable of catalyzing all reactions tested. Fourteen biocatalysts did not show hydrolytic activity at all; however, they displayed transesterification activities using ethanol, starch, low-methoxyl (LM) pectin, high-methoxyl (HM) pectin, or vitamin C as acyl acceptors. Using heat-treated biocatalysts, hydrolytic activities were not highly correlated with the corresponding transesterification activities using ethanol (r =  -0.058, p = 0.660), starch (r = 0.431, p = 0.001), LM pectin (r =  -0.010, p = 0.938), HM pectin (r = 0.167, p = 0.202), and vitamin C (r =  -0.048, p = 0.716) as acyl acceptor. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, several transesterification activities produced from microorganisms of the genus Bacillus, Brevibacillus, Lysinibacillus, Geobacillus, or Sporosarcina were reported for first time. Finally, the global lipase market was presented and segmented by date, application, geography and player highlighting the commercial contribution of microbial lipases.

Thermal or membrane processing for Infant Milk Formula: Effects on protein digestion and integrity of the intestinal barrier

Infant Milk Formula (IMF) is designed as a breastmilk substitute to satisfy the nutritional requirements during the first months of life. This study investigates the effects of two IMF processing technologies on cow milk protein digestion using an infant static in vitro gastrointestinal model. The degree of protein hydrolysis at the end of the gastric phase was 3.7-fold higher for IMF produced by high temperature (IMF-HT), compared to IMF produced by cascade membrane filtration (IMF-CMF), as assessed by free N-terminal group analysis. The processing type also influenced the panel of bioavailable peptides detected in basolateral compartments of Caco-2 monolayers exposed to gastrointestinal digested IMFs. In addition, IMF-CMF significantly increased tight junction protein, claudin 1, whilst IMF-HT significantly reduced tight junction integrity. In conclusion, producing IMF by CMF may preserve intestinal barrier integrity and can deliver its own unique inventory of bioavailable peptides with potential bioactivity.

In Vitro Characterisation of the Antioxidative Properties of Whey Protein Hydrolysates Generated under pH- and Non pH-Controlled Conditions

Bovine whey protein concentrate (WPC) was hydrolysed under pH-stat (ST) and non pH-controlled (free-fall, FF) conditions using Debitrase (DBT) and FlavorPro Whey (FPW). The resultant whey protein hydrolysates (WPHs) were assessed for the impact of hydrolysis conditions on the physicochemical and the in vitro antioxidant and intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in oxidatively stressed HepG2 cells. Enzyme and hydrolysis condition dependent differences in the physicochemical properties of the hydrolysates were observed, however, the extent of hydrolysis was similar under ST and FF conditions. Significantly higher (p < 0.05) in vitro and cellular antioxidant activities were observed for the DBT compared to the FPW-WPHs. The WPHs generated under ST conditions displayed significantly higher (p < 0.05) oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) values compared to the FF-WPHs. The impact of hydrolysis conditions was more pronounced in the in vitro compared to the cellular antioxidant assay. WPH peptide profiles (LC-MS/MS) were also enzyme and hydrolysis conditions dependent as illustrated in the case of β-lactoglobulin. Therefore, variation in the profiles of the peptides released may explain the observed differences in the antioxidant activity. Targeted generation of antioxidant hydrolysates needs to consider the hydrolysis conditions and the antioxidant assessment method employed.

Reducing antigenicity of bovine whey proteins by Kluyveromyces marxianus fermentation combined with ultrasound treatment

This work investigated the reduction of bovine whey proteins antigenicity by ultrasonic pretreatment and microbial fermentation. Firstly, bovine whey proteins was pretreated by ultrasonic techniques, and its secondary structure was detected by circular dichroism. The pretreated whey proteins was used as the fermentation substrate by Kluyveromyces marxianus for microbial transformation. The single factor design and Box-Behnken Design (BBD) were carried out with the aim to optimize culture temperature, initial pH, inoculum volume and rotation speed. After optimization process, culture temperature, initial pH, inoculum volume and rotation speed were determined. Under culture temperature 35 °C, pH 7.25, inoculum level 10% and shaking speed 150 rpm, the α-LA and β-LG antigenicity in bovine whey proteins were reduced by 29% and 53%, respectively. The findings showed that combined with microbial fermentation for hydrolysis of whey proteins, ultrasonic pretreatment can be used in order to produce hypoallergenic bovine whey proteins.

Powder and Reconstituted Properties of Commercial Infant and Follow-On Formulas

The physical properties of 15 commercially available infant formulas (IF) and follow-on (FO) formulas were analysed. Powders made with intact milk proteins were classified into two groups; Type I—homogenous mixtures of milk powder particles (n = 6); and Type II—heterogeneous mixtures of milk powder particles and tomahawk-shaped α-lactose monohydrate crystals (n = 6). Powders made using hydrolysed proteins were classified as Type III powders (n = 3). Type II powders exhibited similar flow characteristics to Type I powders despite having significantly (p < 0.05) smaller particle size, lower circularity, and greater elongation. Type III powders exhibited lowest particles size, highest surface free fat, and poorest flow properties (p < 0.05 for all). Upon reconstitution of powders (12.5% w/w), no significant difference (p < 0.05) in apparent viscosity was observed between Type I and II powders. Reconstituted Type III powders had relatively poor stability to separation compared to Type I and II powders, caused by large starch granules and/or poor emulsification by hydrolysed proteins. Overall, this study illustrated the range of physical behaviour and structures present in commercial IF powders. In particular, the effect of dry addition of lactose and the hydrolysis of protein were found to have major effects on physical properties.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of insectAlphitobius diaperinustowards the development of bioactive peptide hydrolysates

Edible insects are a promising protein source for the future generation, due to their nutritional composition, sustainability and low environmental impact.

Exploring the Use of a Modified High-Temperature, Short-Time Continuous Heat Exchanger with Extended Holding Time (HTST-EHT) for Thermal Inactivation of Trypsin Following Selective Enzymatic Hydrolysis of the β-Lactoglobulin Fraction in Whey Protein Isolate

Tryptic hydrolysis of whey protein isolate under specific incubation conditions including a relatively high enzyme:substrate (E:S) ratio of 1:10 is known to preferentially hydrolyse β-lactoglobulin (β-LG), while retaining the other major whey protein fraction, i.e., α-lactalbumin (α-LA) mainly intact. An objective of the present work was to explore the effects of reducing E:S (1:10, 1:30, 1:50, 1:100) on the selective hydrolysis of β-LG by trypsin at pH 8.5 and 25 °C in a 5% (w/v) WPI solution during incubation periods ranging from 1 to 7 h. In addition, the use of a pilot-scale continuous high-temperature, short-time (HTST) heat exchanger with an extended holding time (EHT) of 5 min as a means of inactivating trypsin to terminate hydrolysis was compared with laboratory-based acidification to <pH 3 by the addition of HCl, and batch sample heating in a water bath at 85 °C. An E:S of 1:10 resulted in 100% and 30% of β-LG and α-LA hydrolysis, respectively, after 3 h, while an E:S reduction to 1:30 and 1:50 led >90% β-LG hydrolysis after respective incubation periods of 4 and 6 h, with <5% hydrolysis of α-LA in the case of 1:50. Continuous HTST-EHT treatment was shown to be an effective inactivation process allowing for the maintenance of substrate selectivity. However, HTST-EHT heating resulted in protein aggregation, which negatively impacts the downstream recovery of intact α-LA. An optimum E:S was determined to be 1:50, with an incubation time ranging from 3 h to 7 h leading to 90% β-LG hydrolysis and minimal degradation of α-LA. Alternative batch heating by means of a water bath to inactivate trypsin caused considerable digestion of α-LA, while acidification to <pH 3.0 restricted subsequent functional applications of the protein.

Enzymatic production of emulsifying whey protein hydrolysates without the need of heat inactivation

BACKGROUND

One possible way to modify the emulsifying properties of whey proteins is by enzymatic hydrolysis. However, most studies covering the influence of the hydrolysis on whey proteins used a heating step (>65 °C) to inactivate the enzyme. This leads to irreversible product changes, like protein denaturation and increased viscosity. Here, the objective was to investigate the single effect of hydrolysis on the emulsifying properties of whey proteins under conditions without a temperature step for enzyme inactivation. Therefore, two acidic peptidase preparations (Maxipro AFP, Protease AP-30L) differing in their peptidase composition were investigated and applied at 45 °C and pH 2.75. The enzyme inactivation was realized by a simple shift to pH 7.0.

RESULTS

After the pH shift, no activity or further hydrolysis was measurable. For the products, no differences (assuming P > 0.05) regarding the emulsifying properties were detected between the two peptidase preparations used. The emulsifying properties of the whey protein isolate hydrolysates produced increased (i.e. half-life >71%) until a degree of hydrolysis of 1.1%. This indicated that the endopeptidase (aspergillopepsin I) present in both preparations was determining the emulsifying properties. As a plus, the presence of exopeptidases in Protease AP-30L compared with Maxipro AFP reduced the bitterness of the hydrolysate (-50%).

CONCLUSION

The application of acidic endo- and exopeptidases enables the production of emulsifying whey protein isolate hydrolysates at high protein concentrations (≥10%) without a commonly used heat inactivation step. The presence of exopeptidases in acidic peptidase preparations is favorable, due to the improved taste. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Systematical characterization of physiochemical and rheological properties of thermal-induced polymerized whey protein

BACKGROUND

Effects of pH (6-8), protein concentration (60-110, g kg^-1 ), heating temperature (70-95 °C) and time (5-30 min) on physiochemical and rheological properties of thermal-induced polymerized whey protein isolate (PWP) were systematically investigated. Degree of denaturation, particle size, zeta potential, free sulfhydryl group content, surface hydrophobicity and apparent viscosity were determined.

RESULTS

Heating whey protein above 75 °C at pH 7 or 8 resulted in denaturation of 80-90% whey protein. pH variation had a remarkable influence on particle size of samples (P < 0.05), whereas heating temperature and time did not generate significant changes. Zeta potential of PWP samples fell in the range of -30 to -40 mV. Free sulfhydryl group content of PWP samples decreased with increasing level regarding each factor. Surface hydrophobicity analysis showed that samples at higher pH or concentration became less hydrophobic, and increasing heating temperature or time resulted in higher hydrophobicity index. Time sweep test revealed that increasing protein concentration, heating temperature or time led to higher apparent viscosity. Flow behavior of PWP samples approached Newtonian character as protein concentration, heating temperature or time decreased.

CONCLUSION

Systematic data may provide helpful information in designing a heating process for dairy products and application of PWP in the food industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Use of High Performance Liquid Chromatography for the Characterization of the Unfolding and Aggregation of Dairy Proteins

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is routinely used to identify and characterize proteins. HPLC can help to understand protein aggregation processes in dairy products, which are induced by common industrial processing steps such as heat treatment. In this chapter, three complementary chromatographic methods are described, which are based on the principles of size exclusion and reversed-phase chromatography. These methods are used to determine the degree of denaturation and aggregation of proteins, and estimate the molecular weight of these aggregates.

Avaliação do potencial antioxidante de proteínas do soro de leite concentradas por ultrafiltração e hidrolisadas por diferentes proteases comerciais

Resumo O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar as atividades antioxidante e antimicrobiana de hidrolisados proteicos de soro de leite obtidos por diferentes proteases (Alcalase e Flavourzyme) e sua mistura (proporção 50:50). Previamente à hidrólise enzimática, o soro de leite foi concentrado por ultrafiltração com membranas cerâmicas tubulares. A reação enzimática foi realizada de acordo com o método pH-stat, sendo coletadas alíquotas com diferentes graus de hidrólise ( GH), ao longo de cada hidrólise proteica. Os hidrolisados foram analisados quanto a estimativa do teor de peptídeos, atividade antioxidante pelos métodos de captura do radical livre ABTS+ e do radical peroxila (Oxygen radical antioxidant capacity - ORAC), eletroforese e atividade antimicrobiana. Os máximos GH alcançados foram 15%, 52% e 63%, para Flavourzyme, mistura das enzimas e Alcalase, respectivamente. A atividade antioxidante aumentou com o GH. Os hidrolisados proteicos obtidos pela Alcalase apresentaram maiores atividades antioxidantes que os outros hidrolisados. Entretanto, nenhum hidrolisado proteico apresentou atividade antimicrobiana contra as cepas de Salmonella choleraesuis subsp. Enteritidis (ATCC 13076) e Listeria monocytogenes (ATCC 9117).

Systematical characterization of functional and antioxidative properties of heat-induced polymerized whey proteins

Effects of pH (6-8), protein concentration (6-11%, w/v), heating temperature (70-95 °C) and time (5-30 min) on functional and antioxidative properties of heat-induced polymerized whey protein were systematically investigated. All samples were determined for solubility at pH 4.6, emulsion capacity and stability, and antioxidative properties involving 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azinobis(2-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) (ABTS) scavenging abilities. Heating resulted in significant loss in solubility, emulsion capacity and stability for whey protein, p < 0.05. Heating decreased DPPH but enhanced ABTS scavenging ability for whey protein significantly, p < 0.05. Changes caused by pH variation were much stronger than those observed for other factors. Both protein concentration and heating time had negative effects while heating temperature had positive effect on emulsion capacity of whey protein. Data indicates that functional and antioxidative properties of whey protein could be altered by factors including pH, protein concentration, heating temperature and time.

Enhancing bioactive peptide release and identification using targeted enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins

Milk proteins have been extensively studied for their ability to yield a range of bioactive peptides following enzymatic hydrolysis/digestion. However, many hurdles still exist regarding the widespread utilization of milk protein-derived bioactive peptides as health enhancing agents for humans. These mostly arise from the fact that most milk protein-derived bioactive peptides are not highly potent. In addition, they may be degraded during gastrointestinal digestion and/or have a low intestinal permeability. The targeted release of bioactive peptides during the enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins may allow the generation of particularly potent bioactive hydrolysates and peptides. Therefore, the development of milk protein hydrolysates capable of improving human health requires, in the first instance, optimized targeted release of specific bioactive peptides. The targeted hydrolysis of milk proteins has been aided by a range of in silico tools. These include peptide cutters and predictive modeling linking bioactivity to peptide structure [i.e., molecular docking, quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR)], or hydrolysis parameters [design of experiments (DOE)]. Different targeted enzymatic release strategies employed during the generation of milk protein hydrolysates are reviewed herein and their limitations are outlined. In addition, specific examples are provided to demonstrate how in silico tools may help in the identification and discovery of potent milk protein-derived peptides. It is anticipated that the development of novel strategies employing a range of in silico tools may help in the generation of milk protein hydrolysates containing potent and bioavailable peptides, which in turn may be used to validate their health promoting effects in humans. Graphical abstract The targeted enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins may allow the generation of highly potent and bioavailable bioactive peptides.

Physiochemical properties and probiotic survivability of symbiotic oat-based beverage

The objectives of this study were to develop a symbiotic oat-based beverage (SOB) and to analyze its physiochemical properties and the probiotic survivability. The beverage base was prepared by fermenting a mix containing oat flour (10%, w/w), sugar (4%, w/w), and inulin (1%, w/w) with a commercial Lactobacillus plantarum (0.003%, w/w) at 30 °C for 12 h. The SOB was formulated using the fermented oat base, sugar, stabilizers (pectin and λ-carrageenan), vitamin C, and citric acid. The beverage was analyzed for total solids (11.65 ± 0.22%), protein (0.58 ± 0.02%), fat (0.37 ± 0.02%), carbohydrate (10.70 ± 0.33%), ash (0.14 ± 0.01%), and dietary fiber (0.70 ± 0.05%). The pH value of the beverage was stable at about 3.60 during 7-week storage. Lactobacillus plantarum population in the beverage remained above 10⁷ CFU/g throughout the storage. Oat-based beverage is a low fat and high dietary fiber symbiotic food.

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the enzymatic hydrolysis of bovine serum albumin

BACKGROUND

The extent of enzymatic proteolysis mainly depends on accessibility of the peptide bonds, which stabilize the protein structure. The high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) process is able to induce, at certain operating conditions, protein displacement, thus suggesting that this technology can be used to modify protein resistance to the enzymatic attack. This work aims at investigating the mechanism of enzymatic hydrolysis assisted by HHP performed under different processing conditions (pressure level, treatment time). Bovine serum albumin was selected for the experiments, solubilized in sodium phosphate buffer (25 mg mL^-1 , pH 7.5) with α-chymotrypsin or trypsin (E/S ratio = 1/10) and HPP treatment (100-500 MPa, 15-25 min).

RESULTS

HHP treatment enhanced the extent of the hydrolysis reaction of globular proteins, being more effective than conventional hydrolysis. At HHP treatment conditions maximizing the protein unfolding, the hydrolysis degree of proteins was increased as a consequence of the increased exposure of peptide bonds to the attack of proteolytic enzymes. The maximum hydrolysis degree (10% and 7% respectively for the samples hydrolyzed with α-chymotrypsin and trypsin) was observed for the samples processed at 400 MPa for 25 min. At pressure levels higher than 400 MPa the formation of aggregates was likely to occur; thus the degree of hydrolysis decreased.

CONCLUSION

Protein unfolding represents the key factor controlling the efficiency of HHP-assisted hydrolysis treatments. The peptide produced under high pressure showed lower dimensions and a different structure with respect to those of the hydrolysates obtained when the hydrolysis was carried out at atmospheric pressure, thus opening new frontiers of application in food science and nutrition. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

A two-step enzymatic modification method to reduce immuno-reactivity of milk proteins

A two-step enzymatic approach to reduce immuno-reactivity of whey protein isolate and casein has been studied. The method involves partial hydrolysis of proteins with proteases, followed by repolymerization with microbial transglutaminase. Whey protein isolate partially hydrolyzed with chymotrypsin, trypsin, or thermolysin retained about 80%, 30%, and 20% of the original immuno-reactivity, respectively. Upon repolymerization the immuno-reactivity decreased to 45%, 35%, and 5%, respectively. The immuno-reactivity of hydrolyzed and repolymerized casein was negligible compared to native casein. The repolymerized products were partially resistant to in vitro digestion. Peptides released during digestion of repolymerized thermolysin-whey protein hydrolysate had less than 5% immuno-reactivity, whereas those of whey protein control exhibited a sinusoidal immuno-reactivity ranging from 5 to 20%. Peptides released during digestion of repolymerized thermolysin-casein hydrolysates had no immuno-reactivity. These results indicated that it is possible to produce hypoallergenic milk protein products using the two-step enzymatic modification method involving thermolysin and transglutaminase.

Improving functional properties of pea protein isolate for microencapsulation of flaxseed oil

Unhydrolysed pea protein (UN) forms very viscous emulsions when used at higher concentrations. To overcome this, UN was hydrolysed using enzymes alcalase, flavourzyme, neutrase, alcalase-flavourzyme, and neutrase-flavourzyme at 50 °C for 0 min, 30 min, 60 min, and 120 min to form hydrolysed proteins A, F, N, AF, and NF, respectively. All hydrolysed proteins had lower apparent viscosity and higher solubility than UN. Foaming capacity of A was the highest, followed by NF, N, and AF. Hydrolysed proteins N60, A60, NF60, and AF60 were prepared by hydrolysing UN for 60 min and used further for microencapsulation. At 20% oil loading (on a total solid basis), the encapsulated powder N60 had the highest microencapsulation efficiency (ME = 56.2). A decrease in ME occurred as oil loading increased to 40%. To improve the ME of N60, >90%, UN and maltodextrin were added. Flowability and particle size distribution of microencapsulated powders with >90% microencapsulation efficiency and morphology of all powders were investigated. This study identified a new way to improve pea protein functionality in emulsions, as well as a new application of hydrolysed pea protein as wall material for microencapsulation.

Impact of the environmental conditions and substrate pre-treatment on whey protein hydrolysis: A review

Proteins in solution are subject to myriad forces stemming from interactions with each other as well as with the solvent media. The role of the environmental conditions, namely pH, temperature, ionic strength remains under-estimated yet it impacts protein conformations and consequently its interaction with, and susceptibility to, the enzyme. Enzymes, being proteins are also amenable to the environmental conditions because they are either activated or denatured depending on the choice of the conditions. Furthermore, enzyme specificity is restricted to a narrow regime of optimal conditions while opportunities outside the optimum conditions remain untapped. In addition, the composition of protein substrate (whether mixed or single purified) have been underestimated in previous studies. In addition, protein pre-treatment methods like heat denaturation prior to hydrolysis is a complex phenomenon whose progression is influenced by the environmental conditions including the presence or absence of sugars like lactose, ionic strength, purity of the protein, and the molecular structure of the mixed proteins particularly presence of free thiol groups. In this review, we revisit protein hydrolysis with a focus on the impact of the hydrolysis environment and show that preference of peptide bonds and/or one protein over another during hydrolysis is driven by the environmental conditions. Likewise, heat-denaturing is a process which is dependent on not only the environment but the presence or absence of other proteins.

Effects of Toasting Time on Digestive Hydrolysis of Soluble and Insoluble 00-Rapeseed Meal Proteins

Thermal damage to proteins can reduce their nutritional value. The effects of toasting time on the kinetics of hydrolysis, the resulting molecular weight distribution of 00-rapeseed meal (RSM) and the soluble and insoluble protein fractions separated from the RSM were studied. Hydrolysis was performed with pancreatic proteases to represent in vitro protein digestibility. Increasing the toasting time of RSM linearly decreased the rate of protein hydrolysis of RSM and the insoluble protein fractions. The extent of hydrolysis was, on average, 44% higher for the insoluble compared with the soluble protein fraction. In contrast, the rate of protein hydrolysis of the soluble protein fraction was 3–9-fold higher than that of the insoluble protein fraction. The rate of hydrolysis of the insoluble protein fraction linearly decreased by more than 60% when comparing the untoasted to the 120 min toasted RSM. Increasing the toasting time elicited the formation of Maillard reaction products (furosine, N^ε-carboxymethyl-lysine and N^ε-carboxyethyl-lysine) and disulfide bonds in the insoluble protein fraction, which is proposed to explain the reduction in the hydrolysis rate of this fraction. Overall, longer toasting times increased the size of the peptides resulting after hydrolysis of the RSM and the insoluble protein fraction. The hydrolysis kinetics of the soluble and insoluble protein fractions and the proportion of soluble:insoluble proteins in the RSM explain the reduction in the rate of protein hydrolysis observed in the RSM with increasing toasting time.