Stefano D'Amico

Fractionation and antioxidant properties of rice bran protein hydrolysates stimulated by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion

Rice bran was used as a starting material to prepare protein concentrate through enzyme-assisted extraction. The hydrolysis of protein concentrate under in vitro gastrointestinal digestion (pepsin-trypsin system) greatly improved the antioxidant properties. Rice bran protein hydrolysate was further fractionated by membrane ultrafiltration (UF, F1: molecular weight (MW) <3kDa, F2: MW 3-5kDa, and F3: MW 5-10kDa). Peptides with smaller MW possessed higher antioxidant activities (P<0.05). UF showed a great efficacy to selectively separate the metal-chelating peptides. Tyrosine and phenylalanine had positive correlations with their DPPH & ABTS radicals scavenging activities and ferric reducing antioxidant power (r>0.831). A major peptide fragment was detected at m/z 1088 by a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. There is high potential that antioxidative peptides from rice bran might also be produced in the gastrointestinal tract of the human body.

Optimization of Arabinoxylan Isolation from Rye Bran by Adapting Extraction Solvent and Use of Enzymes

Abstract Physicochemical and functional properties of arabinoxylans (AXs) can be significantly influenced by their isolation method. Finding balanced process conditions that allow optimal extraction yields while preserving AXs functionality is a challenge. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different chemical solvents with neutral and alkaline pH on the intrinsic properties and extraction yield of AXs isolated from rye bran. Additionally, the application of xylanases and other cell wall degrading enzymes (Pentopan Mono BG, Deltazym XL‐VR, Viscoflow BG) to solubilize bound AXs was investigated. Results show that the use of Ca(OH)2 for isolation was superior to water and Na2CO3, as it selectively solubilized AXs and delivered isolates with a purity of up to 43.92% AX and a moderate ferulic acid (FA) content (209.35 ± 16.79 mg FA/100 g AX). Application of xylanases was further able to duplicate these achieved AX yields (7.50 to 9.85g AX/100 g bran). Additionally, isolates displayed highest ferulic acid contents (445.18 to 616.71 mg FA/100 g AX) and lowest impurities in comparison to chemical extracted AXs. Rheological characterization of the isolates showed a pronounced shear thinning behavior which fitted well to the power‐law model (R 2 > 0.989). Differences in pseudoplasticity of the isolates suggested that structural and chemical properties might have been responsible for this behavior.