Combination of high pressure technologies and enzymatic hydrolysis to produce quinoa protein hydrolysates with antioxidant and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activities

• Grant number: 22/00512-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: June 27, 2022
• End date: December 26, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo Cristianini
• Grantee: Ludmilla de Carvalho Oliveira
• Supervisor: Juana Frias Arevalillo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos y Nutrición (ICTAN), Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/05578-7 - Modification of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) protein isolates and bioactive peptides obtained by high pressure assisted enzymatic hydrolysis, BP.PD

Abstract

Plant protein utilization is a trend from scientific and business perspectives. In this context, research on emerging plant protein sources with potential to be commercially exploited, such as quinoa seeds, is rising considerably. In addition to the nutritional value, quinoa protein has been recognized as a potential source of bioactive peptides which can exert beneficial physiological activities such as angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory, antioxidant, antidiabetic, among others. Currently, the main method for producing bioactive peptides is via enzymatic hydrolysis. The extent of enzymatic hydrolysis mainly depends on the accessibility of the peptide bonds, which stabilize the protein structure and control the composition of the mixture of peptides produced. Therefore, treatments that can induce the unfolding in protein structure, which increases the number of the binding sites exposed to the enzymatic attack, may be used as a strategy to improve the degree of hydrolysis in the production of bioactive peptides. In this regard, high-pressure processing technologies combined with proteolysis are proposed as novel strategies for the purpose of enhancing enzymatic proteolysis and they are emerging field of growing interest. The main objective of the current project is to evaluate the potential of applying high pressure technologies combined with enzymatic hydrolysis, i.e., high hydrostatic pressure-assisted enzymatic hydrolysis and high-pressure homogenization as pretreatment to hydrolysis, to produce functional ingredients from quinoa and explore them as protein hydrolysates containing bioactive peptides. (AU)