Affiliation:
1. Hainan Engineering Center of Coconut Further Processing, Coconut Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang 571339, China
2. College of Tropical Crops, Yunnan Agricultural University, Puer 665099, China
3. College of Food Science and Technol, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Abstract
The effects of the dry processing of coconut oil on the amino acid composition, molecular weight, secondary structure, solubility, surface hydrophobicity, microstructure, total sulfhydryl and free sulfhydryl content, free amino acid content, thermal properties, and water-holding, oil-holding, foaming, and emulsifying properties of coconut isolate protein were investigated. The results showed that the dry processing altered the amino acid composition of coconut isolate proteins as well as resulted in fewer irregular structural regions and more homogeneous particle sizes, leading to an improvement in the thermal stability of the proteins. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that globular proteins located at ~34 kDa in coconut isolate proteins underwent slight degradation during the dry processing of coconut oil. The dry processing reduced the surface hydrophobicity, total and free sulfhydryl groups, solubility, and free amino acid content of coconut isolate proteins. In addition, the water-holding capacity, oil-holding capacity, and foam stability of coconut isolate proteins were improved to different degrees after the dry processing. Therefore, the development and utilization of copra meal protein is of great significance to increase its added value.
Funder
Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund