Abstract
AimThe effect of moderate-intensity pulsed electric fields (MIPEF) was evaluated on vegetable protein concentrates from pea, rice, and gluten.MethodsFive percent (w/w) suspensions of protein concentrates (pH 5 and 6) were exposed to up to 60,000 MIPEF pulses at 1.65 kV/cm. Both structural modifications (absorbance at 280 nm, free sulfhydryl groups, FT-IR-spectra) and functional properties (solubility, water and oil holding capacity, foamability) were analyzed.ResultsMIPEF was able to modify protein structure by inducing unfolding, intramolecular rearrangement, and formation of aggregates. However, these effects were strongly dependent on protein nature and pH. In the case of rice and pea samples, structural changes were associated with negligible modifications in functional properties. By contrast, noticeable changes in these properties were observed for gluten samples, especially after exposure to 20,000 pulses. In particular, at pH 6, an increase in water and oil holding capacity of gluten was detected, while at pH 5, its solubility almost doubled.ConclusionThese results suggest the potential of MIPEF to steer structure of proteins and enhance their technological functionality.
Highlights
The increasing issues associated with sustainability and food security of proteins consumption have led to an increase interest in the utilization of plant proteins (Boland et al 2013; FAO 2013, 2017)
PEF technology is based on the application of short pulses of high voltage electric field to a food material placed between a set pair of electrodes
The effects of moderate-intensity pulsed electric fields (MIPEF) on structural and functional properties of vegetable protein concentrates were evaluated for the first time
Summary
The increasing issues associated with sustainability and food security of proteins consumption have led to an increase interest in the utilization of plant proteins (Boland et al 2013; FAO 2013, 2017). It is a matter of fact that fundamental knowledge on the effect of MIPEF on structural and technological properties of proteins, and especially plant proteins, is highly demanded to propose this technology for food applications To this aim, in this research, aqueous suspensions (5% w/w) of commercial vegetable protein concentrates of pea, rice and wheat gluten protein concentrates were subjected to MIPEF treatments at 1.65 kV/cm for increasing number of pulses (0, 20,000 and 60,000). Treated samples were evaluated for both structural modifications (absorbance at 280 nm, free sulfhydryl groups, FT-IR-spectra) and functional properties (solubility, water and oil holding capacity, foam ability)
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