Physico-chemical and functional properties of proteins extracted from Pereskia aculeata

• Grant number: 22/10274-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: February 13, 2023
• End date: February 12, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Technology
• Principal Investigator: Naaman Francisco Nogueira Silva
• Grantee: Naaman Francisco Nogueira Silva
• Host Investigator: Mohammad Amin Mohammadifar
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências da Natureza (CCN). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Campus de Lagoa do Sino. Buri , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark

Abstract

Brazil has an exuberant native flora, which includes diverse edible protein-rich plants. Among these alternative sources, Pereskia aculeata, popularly known as "Ora-Pro-Nobis" (OPN), is a specie that presents interesting properties as human food, e.g. their leaves present 25 % w/w of proteins on a dry basis. However, the chemical characteristics of these proteins are largely unknown. Therefore, the main objective of the proposed project is to investigate the physico-chemical and functional properties of OPN leaf proteins (OPN-LP) extracted using ultrasound (US), ohmic heating (OH) and pulsed electric fields (PEF) as complementary technologies to two extraction methods - conventional and deep eutectic solvent. In effect, cultivation of OPN is being carried out at the farm of the Lagoa do Sino campus - Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). Harvest and flour production of OPN leaves will take place in October and November 2022 at the Laboratory of Food Technology - Lagoa do Sino campus. Healthy leaves will be cleaned, dried, ground, vacuum packed and mailed to the National Food Institute - Technical University of Denmark. At DTU, OPN leaf flour will be initially defatted by an organic solvent. Then, the defatted OPN leaf flour will be used as a raw material to extract OPN-LP using two extraction methods - conventional (alkali and acid solutions) and deep eutectic solvent (choline chloride and oxalic acid mixture). US, OH and PEF treatments will be separately applied during protein extraction procedures by both methods. After extraction procedures, the OPN-LP will be analyzed regarding their nutritional characteristics, digestibility, physico-chemical properties, and the ability to form acid and heat-induced gels. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

SILVA, NAAMAN FRANCISCO NOGUEIRA; SILVA, SERGIO HENRIQUE; BARON, DANIEL; NEVES, ISABELLE CRISTINA OLIVEIRA; CASANOVA, FEDERICO. Pereskia aculeata Miller as a Novel Food Source: A Review. FOODS, v. 12, n. 11, p. 12-pg., 2023-05-23. (22/10274-0)