Separation and determination of denatured alpha(s1)-, alpha(s2)-, beta- and kappa-caseins by hydrophobic interaction chromatography in cows', ewes' and goats' milk, milk mixtures and cheeses

Caseins alpha(s1)-, alpha(s2)-, beta- and kappa- from raw cows', ewes' and goats' milk were separated and determined by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) by using a Propyl column (Eichrom) in the presence of 8.0 M urea in the mobile phase. The method is based on fast and easy solubilization of real raw samples by 4.0 M guanidine thiocyanate followed by the HIC analysis, without any preliminary precipitation or separation of the casein fraction. Elution conditions have been optimized by analyzing commercial single bovine standard caseins and their mixture. In the optimized chromatographic conditions the four casein fractions were separated in less than 45 min. A linear relationship between the concentration of casein and peak area (UV absorbance detector at 280 nm) has been obtained over the concentration range of 0.5 to 40 microM. The detection limit for alpha-, beta- and kappa-caseins ranged between 0.35 and 0.70 microM. The precision of the method was evaluated, the coefficient of variation for alpha-, beta- and kappa-casein determination ranging between 3.0 and 6.0%. The method has been validated by the analysis of reference skim milk powder (BCR-063R) certificated for total nitrogen content. The method was applied to commercial casein mixture and to the qualitative and quantitative analysis of casein fractions in unprocessed, raw cows', goats' and ewes' milk (10 samples analyzed for each species), in one sample of unprocessed buffalos' milk and in commercial cheeses (mozzarella, robiola, ricotta and stracchino). Binary mixtures of milk (cow/goat and cow/ewe) were also analyzed and the ratio between casein peak areas (alpha(s1)/kappa, alpha(s2)/beta, beta/kappa and alpha(s2)/alpha(s1)) of the HIC chromatograms was proposed and discussed in order to evaluate a possible application of this method to detect milk adulteration.

Discovery of an ovine alpha S2-casein variant

A novel ovine alpha S2-casein variant has been detected using discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis at alkaline pH, two dimensional electrophoresis and immunoblotting. It is characterized by a greater negative net charge and a lower isoelectric point compared with the most common ovine alpha S2-casein variant. The phenotypic frequency in the Manchega breed is 5.5%.

Bitter taste of enzymic hydrolysates of casein. I. Isolation, structural and sensorial analysis of peptides from tryptic hydrolysates of beta-casein

beta-Casein A2 was isolated from milk of a homozygous cow and hydrolysed with trypsin. The hydrolysate was separated by RP-HPLC into 18 peptides, all but one of which could be attributed to the sequence of beta-casein on the basis of the amino acid composition. Some peptides overlapped. In total, they represented about 97% of the protein sequence. Only three peptides had a bitter taste, namely I49-N68 (recognition threshold 1.0 mg/ml, 0.45 mmol/l), I49-K97 (1.5 mg/ml, 0.28 mmol/l) and G203-V209 (0.175 mg/ml, 0.23 mmol/l). The contribution of the three peptides to the overall bitterness of the beta-casein hydrolysate (2.67 mg/ml) was about 11, 21, and 60%, respectively. Peptide I49-K97 was present in the hydrolysate together with its fragments I49-N68 and S69-K97. Remarkably, the smaller and more hydrophobic fragment I49-N68 was less bitter than I49-K97 on a molar basis, whereas the larger and more hydrophilic fragment S69-K97 had a neutral taste. These results show that in the case of larger peptides neither hydrophobicity nor size are responsible alone for bitter potency, but that conformational parameters must be of great importance. Furthermore, it can be concluded that only a part of the structure is responsible for the contact with the receptor. The bitterness of G203-V209 is discussed in connection with related synthetic peptides in the literature.

Chromatographic and electrophoretic methods used for analysis of milk proteins

Current knowledge of milk proteins and their behavior in dairy foods is based on early applications of chromatography and electrophoresis. Electrophoretic identification of the number and genetic variety of milk proteins inaugurated a research effort in which chromatographic techniques were successfully applied to the isolation of each milk protein, thus facilitating the characterization and further study of milk and dairy products. This review focuses on recent applications of chromatography for separations and analysis and on analytical applications of electrophoresis.