Determination of physicochemical, immunochemical and antioxidant properties, toxicological and hygienic assessment of whey protein comcentrate and its hydrolysate

Abstract

Enzymatic hydrolysis of whey proteins is aimed to obtain products with low allergenic potential and high nutritional value. Whey peptides are protein fraction that possesses a variety of physicochemical, immunochemical and bioactive properties (antioxidant, antibacterial, immunomodulatory effects). Controlled parameters of enzymatic hydrolysates are the degree of hydrolysis of protein substrates, peptide composition, residual antigenicity, antioxidant capacity, etc. The purpose of this work is to characterize peptide profile, antigenicity and free radical scavenging properties of experimental hydrolysate sample, toxicological and hygienic assessment of its impact on a test object (infusoria Tetrahymena pyriformis). The research of properties of whey proteins and their enzymatic hydrolysates was conducted using classical and modern methodological approaches: SDS electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gel, HPLC, mass-spectrometry, competitive ELISA, TEAC (Trolox Equivalent Capacity Assay) technique. Peptide composition, antigenic and antioxidant properties of obtained enzymatic hydrolysate were determined, toxicity of raw and digested whey proteins were examined. We established that the investigated hydrolysate sample falls under the category of partial hydrolysates for functional products according to its physicochemical, immunochemical, free radical scavenging and organoleptic properties. According to the results of toxicological and hygienic assessment using T. pyriformis model, whey protein concentrate and its hydrolysates are non-toxic and do not possess cumulative properties. Thus, we obtained partial enzymatic hydrolysate of whey proteins from milk, which can be used as physiologically active component in the development of new specialized food.