Dados do Trabalho

Título

ULTRASOUND ASSISTED HYDROLYSIS OF PUMPKIN SEED PROTEINS BY DIFFERENT COMMERCIAL PROTEASES: IMPACT ON SOLUBILITY AND ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY in vitro

Introdução

Pumpkin seeds are predominantly treated as agro-industrial waste, often destined for animal feed. However, this residue contains a high concentration of proteins (~35%) that remain unexplored due to their low solubility. In this context, enzymatic hydrolysis could be a strategy to enhance the techno-functional properties of these proteins. However, the use of enzymes responsible for generating these compounds is associated with high costs and low conversion rates. Thus, new strategies, such as using ultrasound (US), have been applied to overcome these challenges. Therefore, this study evaluated the impact of US-assisted hydrolysis of pumpkin seed protein (PSP) using different commercial proteases on solubility and antioxidant activity.

Material e Métodos

The hydrolysis process was carried out for up to 180 min in the US bath (40kHz, 23.8W/L), varying the temperature from 50 to 60 °C. Similarly, the conventional reaction was carried out under the same conditions in a thermostatic bath. The solubility of the native PSP and the hydrolysates obtained after 45 and 180 minutes of hydrolysis were evaluated at different pH values (ranging from 2 to 10), and the in vitro antioxidant activity was assessed using the DPPH and ABTS radicals.

Resultados e Discussão

The US-assisted hydrolysis of PSP for 180 min at the optimum temperature for each enzyme increased protein solubility (up to 4.2x, 3.5x, and 2.5x at pH 6.0 using Neutrase®, Brauzyn®, and Flavourzyme®, respectively) (p<0.05). Regarding antioxidant activity, it was observed that the samples obtained from the US-assisted reactions showed an increase (up to 7.8x, 6.7x, and 5.5x using Brauzyn®, Neutrase®, and Flavourzyme®, respectively) compared to the native sample. In addition, the samples obtained after the US-assisted reaction also showed higher values for solubility (up to 92% increase at pH 6.0/180 min) and antioxidant activity (up to 85% increase at pH 6.0/45 min) compared to the samples obtained by conventional reaction (p<0.05).

Conclusão

Therefore, ultrasound technology applied during the hydrolysis of pumpkin seed proteins is a good strategy to enhance the multifunctional properties of the obtained hydrolysates.