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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #420510
Research Project: New Sustainable Processes, Preservation Technologies, and Product Concepts for Specialty Crops and Their Co-Products

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Enzymatic production and physicochemical and functional properties of sorghum protein isolates

Author
item XIAO, RUOSHUI - Kansas State University
item LOU, HAIWEI - Kansas State University
item HU, RUJIA - Kansas State University
item LI, SANG - Kansas State University
item ZHENG, YI - Kansas State University
item WANG, DONGHAI - Kansas State University
item XU, YOUJIE - Iowa State University
item Xu, Yixiang
item LI, YONGHUI - Kansas State University

Submitted to: International Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/6/2024
Publication Date: 11/13/2024
Citation: Xiao, R., Lou, H., Hu, R., Li, S., Zheng, Y., Wang, D., Xu, Y., Xu, Y., Li, Y. 2024. Enzymatic production and physicochemical and functional properties of sorghum protein isolates. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 283(1). Article 137421. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137421.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137421

Interpretive Summary: With the increasing population and emphasis on personal nutrition,developing alternative proteins to conventional animal proteins is crucial. Grain sorghum has emerged as a promising source for producing alternative proteins, yet current extraction methods lack efficiency. Various enzymes (a-amylases and cellulases), alone or in combination, were used to extract protein from dry milling, wet milling, and fermented sorghum materials. The objective of this research was to identify the most effective method for maximizing protein recovery from sorghum materials. The physicochemical properties and functionalities of sorghum proteins from different treatments remain generally consistent. The results from this research would be helpful for further research to produce sorghum protein concentrates/isolates and explore the diverse applications of sorghum proteins.

Technical Abstract: A novel enzymatic approach using a-amylase and cellulase on sorghum materials was developed to address extraction efficiency pf protein. Comparisons were made among the proteins isolated from dry-milled sorghum flours, wet-milled sorghum gluten meals, and sorghum dried distiller’s grains (DDG). Remarkably, proteins obtained from sorghum gluten meals demonstrated the highest protein purity (83-85%) and recovery rate (92-93%), followed by those from sorghum flour (purity 75-76%) and DDG (purity 45-50%). Physicochemical properties and functionalities of the isolated sorghum proteins were analyzed and compared with common commercial plant proteins (e.g., soy protein isolate, pea protein isolate, and wheat gluten). Sorghum proteins exhibited higher levels of crude fat content, a-helix, and random coil structures, along with higher surface hydrophobicity and oil holding capacity (OHC) compared to the commercial plant protein isolates. Notably, proteins extracted from sorghum flours displayed slightly higher a-helix and random coil structures, total sulfhydryl content, water holding capacity (WHC), OHC, and protein digestibility compared to proteins isolated from sorghum gluten meals. Overall, this study demonstrates that enzymatic processing is feasible in producing sorghum proteins and provides insights into their basic properties and functionalities.