Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the antioxidant capacity and peptic hydrolysis of whey proteins
Enzymatic hydrolysis, Pepsin; Bioactive peptides; High hydrostatic pressure, antioxidant capacity
Abstract
In this study, was evaluated the effect of the application of HHP before (pre-treatment -
PT) and during (hydrolysis assisted - HA) the protein hydrolysis of a whey protein
concentrate. Was used, a factorial design 22 with central point, with 3 central points,
where the independent variables were pressure (100, 250, 400 MPa) and time (5, 20 and
35 minutes). The hydrolysis was evaluated by soluble and aromatic amino acid content
and the peptidic profile was analyzed by RP-HPLC. The ABTS and ORAC tests were
used to evaluate the antioxidant capacity. The reduction of soluble protein content was
approximately 20% for conventional hydrolysis and for all PT points up to 4 h of
reaction, while HHP assisted hydrolysis at 100 MPa showed a 35% reduction in 35
minutes of reaction. In addition, pressurization favored peptic hydrolysis of β-
lactoglobulin by up to 98% and also improved the in vitro antioxidant capacity of the
hydrolysates, which increased from 34.25 to 60.89 μmoles TE g-1 of protein in the best
treatment. The results suggest that the use of HHP assisted hydrolysis favored the peptic
hydrolysis, with a reduction in hydrolysis time and increased antioxidant activity.