Kunlun Liu

Milk processing as a tool to reduce cow’s milk allergenicity: a mini-review

Milk processing technologies for the control of cow’s milk protein allergens are reviewed in this paper. Cow’s milk is a high nutritious food; however, it is also one of the most common food allergens. The major allergens from cow’s milk have been found to be β-lactoglobulin, α-lactalbumin and caseins. Strategies for destroying or modifying these allergens to eliminate milk allergy are being sought by scientists all over the world. In this paper, the main processing technologies used to prevent and eliminate cow’s milk allergy are presented and discussed, including heat treatment, glycation reaction, high pressure, enzymatic hydrolysis and lactic acid fermentation. Additionally, how regulating and optimizing the processing conditions can help reduce cow’s milk protein allergenicity is being investigated. These strategies should provide valuable support for the development of hypoallergenic milk products in the future.

Purification and identification of Se-containing antioxidative peptides from enzymatic hydrolysates of Se-enriched brown rice protein

As a further study of Se-containing proteins (Se-Pro) derived from Se-enriched brown rice (Se-BR), this paper aimed to purify and identify Se-containing antioxidative peptides (Se-antioxi-Peps) from Se-Pro hydrolysates. The total Se content in Se-BR was 6.26μg/g DW, and selenocystine, Se-methylselenocysteine, and selenomethionine were identified as the main organic Se species by high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Se-Pro was extracted and hydrolyzed by four types of proteases, and Alcalase was chosen as the optimum enzyme according to the degree of hydrolysis (DH). The hydrolysate with 17.08% DH possessing the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity was separated into five fractions (F1 to F5). Fractions F3 to F5, which had high antioxidative activities, were further separated. Sub-fractions F3-3, F4-2, and F5-1 were chosen to evaluate antioxidative activities and analyze Se species. The Se-antioxi-Pep with the sequence SeMet-Pro-Ser was identified by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry.

Effects of different factors on the forward extraction of soy protein in reverse micelle systems

Reverse micelle extraction is a new technology for the extraction of protein. In this research, three kinds of reverse micelle systems, anionic surfactant sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT) reverse micelle system, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) reverse micelle system, and cationic surfactant cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) reverse micelle system, were used to extract soy protein respectively. Effects of soy flour concentration, Wo ([H 2 O]/[AOT]), temperature, time, pH, ionic strength and ultrasonic power on forward extraction efficiency of soy protein were investigated. The effect of AOT reverse micelle diameter was studied as well. AOT reverse micelle system had higher extraction efficiency than SDS and CTAB systems. The main factors that affected the forward extraction were soy flour concentration, temperature and pH. The optimal conditions in AOT system were soy flour concentration being 0.007 g/ml, Wo 16, pH 6.5, temperature 34°C, time 20 min, KCl concentration of 0.1 mol/L and ultrasound power of 240 W. Under these conditions, the extraction efficiency of soy protein was 85.5%. The forward extraction efficiency of soy protein in AOT reverse micelle system increased with the increase of the reverse micelle diameter. Reverse micelle extraction is an effective way to extract soy protein. Key words: Soy protein, reverse micelle, forward extraction, sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB).

Protection mechanism of Se-containing protein hydrolysates from Se-enriched rice on Pb2+-induced apoptosis in PC12 and RAW264.7 cells

This study aimed to investigate the protection mechanism of Se-containing protein hydrolysates (SPH) from Se-enriched rice on Pb2+-induced apoptosis in PC12 and RAW264.7 cells. Results showed that SPHs could alleviate Pb2+-induced morphological changes of apoptosis and the loss of mitochondrial transmembrane potential in both cell types. Besides this, SPHs could significantly reduce the activation of caspase-3, -8, -9 induced by Pb2+, reverse the Pb2+-induced upregulation of Bax and release of cytochrome C, and downregulate Bcl-2 in cells. HPLC-ICP-MS and SEC-HPLC assays showed that SPHs were low molecular weight peptides (229.4-534.9Da), and the major Se species found in SPHs was SeMet. Taken together, these findings suggested that SPHs could possibly protect the cells against Pb2+-induced apoptosis via a caspase-dependent mitochondrial pathway, and the primary effective constituents in SPHs were SeMet and Se-containing peptides, suggesting that SPHs might be a novel potential candidate to improve the health of people with Se deficiency or in Pb-contaminated areas.

Kinetics of Protein Extraction in Reverse Micelle

Sodium bis (2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate (AOT)-sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)/isooctane-octanol reverse micelle extraction was tested an efficient and effective approach to separate peanut protein from full-fat peanut powder. Here, important kinetic factors including pH, ion strength, and temperature were studied during reverse micelle backward extraction. The extraction conditions were obtained by response surface experiments as follows: pH 7.5, ion concentration 1.1 mol/L at temperature 35°C. Under these optimum extraction conditions, the extraction rate of protein reached 79.03%. A model on the kinetic partitioning of peanut protein was also developed. The backward extraction in this reverse micelle system was controlled by interfacial resistance instead of diffusion resistance in reverse micelle and aqueous phase with the total mass transfer rate of 0.8×10−5 m3·s−1. A two-film theory may be the mechanism for flat interface. Results of mass transfer process are helpful for creating an reverse micelle extraction process, and used for purification of peanut proteins, promoting the development of food industry.

Effects of Extruded Soy Protein on the Quality of Chinese Steamed Bread

Five different extruded soy protein isolates (ESPIs) were obtained by extrusion and denoted by IVD1, IVD2, IVD3, IVD4, and IVD5. Then the SDS-PAGE results showed that the subunits of SPI decreased after extrusion, especially the subunits of 90.8, 32.8, and 31.3 kDa, whereas no isopeptide bond was formed. Although SPI improved both the development time (DT) and stability (S) of dough, ESPIs increased S but the DT decreased from 4.3 min to 1.8–2.0 min. Texture profile analysis (TPA) results showed that the hardness and chewiness of Chinese steamed bread (CSB) decreased in the order wheat flour

Analysis of volatiles in brown rice, germinated brown rice, and selenised germinated brown rice during storage at different vacuum levels

BACKGROUND The quality of nutritionally enhanced foods can be determined by evaluating changes in the volatile compounds produced in these foods over time. In this work, selenium-enriched germinated brown rice (Se-GBR), germinated brown rice (GBR), and brown rice (BR) stored under 90% relative humidity, 38 °C, and various vacuum levels were investigated. The relative abundance and differences of volatile compounds in Se-GBR, GBR, and BR over various storage periods were detected. The correlation of volatile compound abundance with vacuum level and storage time was analysed using principal component analysis (PCA). RESULTS Volatile compounds in the three samples were quantified at various storage periods (0, 90 and 150 days). Approximately 100 volatile compounds and eight species were identified and classified. Various proportions or types of volatile compounds were found in each sample at different sampling times. PCA results showed an isolation of volatile compounds in terms of sampling day and vacuum level at each storage period. CONCLUSION Changes in volatile compounds over time and vacuum levels can provide bases for assessing of the nutritional quality of Se-GBR, GBR, and BR.

Comparative proteomics analysis reveals the effect of germination and selenium enrichment on the quality of brown rice during storage

Selenium (Se) can delay the quality deterioration of rice during storage, however, the mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, changes in the quality of brown rice, germinated brown rice, and selenized germinated brown rice stored at 38 °C and 90% relative humidity with various vacuum levels for 120 or 150 days were investigated. Fatty acid value and carbonyl value were determined every 30 days. Comparative proteomics technology was applied to determine the mechanisms of germination and Se enrichment on the storage quality of rice. Approximately 142 abundance changed proteins were found, of which 37 proteins were identified. By functional classification, proteins involved in processes of carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, oxidation-reduction, and protein catabolism may contribute to the different storage qualities of three samples. This study provides novel insights into Se response in rice at the proteome level, which are expected to be beneficial for exploring Se response tracts in rice.