Insights into the engineering parameters and Ca-peptide chelation of whole fish: Chemistry, structure and in vitro digestibility characteristics

Abstract

This research studied the engineering parameters of fish bone powder (FBP) and whole fish powder (WFP) and compared their nutritional and structural properties to fish meat powder in order to evaluate if FBP and WFP might be utilized as a food in the future. For FBP and WFP, the parameters used were rotation speed, milling gap, and sample: water, whereas milling speed, time, and powder: medium, respectively. According to the findings, the primary variables that enhanced stress intensity (SI) and stress number (SN), leading to particle sizes of 10 and 5 μm for WFP and FBP, respectively, were milling time, colloidal gap and sample: media. The FBP had significantly (P < 0.05) higher values of zeta potential (ζ) than the FBP. The phenomenon of Ca-peptide chelation in WFP was observed by peaks at 1548 and 3302 cm−1 (FTIR spectra) compared to that FBP and fish meat. The Ca bioavailability and protein digestibility of WFP were significantly (P < 0.05) higher (40 and 80%) than those of FBP (35 and 70%), most likely due to Ca-peptide chelation. The increased protein bioavailability was also demonstrated by WFP having significantly (P < 0.05) more essential amino acids (41.30%) than FBP (33.9%). The technoeconomic analysis revealed that, when land and equipment costs are excluded, the cost of WFP is less than that of fish flesh powder, and its yield (18–22%) is higher. The findings suggest the feasibility of adding WFP in food products with improved structural and in vitro digestibility characteristics.