A Pilot-Scale Process for the Extraction of Raffinose-Oligosaccharides from Pulse Protein Concentrates

Abstract

AbstractPlant protein concentrates have gained popularity in recent years as part of a shift towards healthier and sustainable food production. Their production via dry fractionation is well established and leads to a protein ingredient that is also rich in raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs). Although these can cause gut discomfort, they might also serve as a valuable substrate fowr growth of probiotic bacteria or as substrate in other biotechnological applications. By using a process including mildly acidic extraction, separation and sequential filtration, a carbohydrate fraction enriched in RFOs was isolated from peas (48 %) and faba beans (26 %) on a kilogram scale. Simultaneously a fraction with elevated protein concentration (5-6 % increase compared to the starting material) and only minor changes in amino acid composition is produced. This process could serve ingredient manufacturers that seek to reduce RFOs in protein concentrates or to produce RFOs for biotechnological or chemical conversion towards new products. It also has potential to reduce the amount of acid and base compared to protein isolate production through wet fractionation. Furthermore, the whole process was performed with industrially relevant and scalable equipment.Graphic for table of contents