(585r) Impact of Enzymatic Hydrolysis On Solubility of a Modified Soy-Maize Protein

Plant proteins, particularly those from cereals and legumes are nutritive and less expensive than counterparts from animal sources. Its use as ingredients in food products rely on various types of functional properties. Solubility maybe the most relevant because of its significant influence on other functional characteristics such as hydration and foaming.  These features affect the stability and behavior of the food system. Some plants proteins display a limited solubility, making necessary structural modification, through enzymatic, physical and/or chemical treatments. Enzymatic hydrolysis is a more likeable treatment compared to the chemical counterpart because of the employment of milder process conditions. In addition, enzyme catalysis is more specific and reduces the yield of byproducts. The peptides obtained by proteolysis have smaller molecular size and less secondary structure than native protein and therefore they have an enhanced solubility. In the present study, a soy–maize modified protein was hydrolyzed in order to increase its solubility. Two point four percent protein dispersions were hydrolyzed with Neutrase® using a concentration and hydrolysis time of 8.48x10^-3 to 0.424 g of enzyme/g of protein and either 30, 60 and 90 min., respectively. The optimum solubility of the modified soy-maize protein was obtained at the enzyme level of 0.191 g of enzyme/g of protein and 30 min. Under these conditions, free alpha-amino nitrogen increased 191% and protein solubility increased 21.6% compared to the native protein. Higher solubility would allow the development of a modified soy-maize protein more useful as ingredient for food applications.