Enzymes Help Improve Plant Protein Functionality

The expansion from traditional crops and livestock and poultry resources to richer biological resources, the development of biotechnology and biological industries, and the need for heat and protein from plant and animal microorganisms are important components of modern agriculture to change the concept and establish a large agricultural concept and a large food concept.

Due to the relative lack of animal protein resources, and in order to alleviate the pressure on the environment and resources, people gradually turn their attention to vegetable protein. Plant protein is an important protein resource in human diet, mainly from grains, oil crops and beans. Compared with animal protein, plant protein is more nutritious, healthier and less expensive. However, the composition, spatial structure and properties of natural plant protein cannot fully meet the current demand for new functional foods, and it needs to be modified in a certain way to meet the needs of food processing and nutrition.

The main methods of protein modification are: chemical method, enzymatic hydrolysis method, physical method, genetic engineering method. Enzymatic hydrolysis has become the main force in protein modification due to the advantages of mild reaction conditions, controllable hydrolysis reaction, low energy consumption, low product nutrient loss and no toxicological problems.

Commonly used enzymes for proteolysis include papain, alkaline protease, and pancreatin in combination. Through enzymatic hydrolysis, the solubility of proteins can be improved, and the flexibility of protein molecules can be increased, which can expand faster and form intermolecular interactions between adsorbed molecules. Under the hydrolysis of protease, the molecular weight of the protein is reduced and the number of ionizable groups and the hydrophobic region in the protein structure are increased, thereby improving the water solubility, foaming and emulsifying properties of vegetable protein.

Modified vegetable protein breaks the limitation of vegetable protein application in food to a certain extent, and is widely used in cold drinks, toffee, cakes, vegetable drinks and other industries due to its good solubility, foaming properties and emulsifying properties. .

Enzymatic hydrolysis has become one of the most effective ways to transform the composition and structure of plant protein, realize the diversification of protein functions, and improve the application value and nutritional value.