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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 #410634
Research Project: New Sustainable Processes, Preservation Technologies, and Product Concepts for Specialty Crops and Their Co-Products

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Structural and functional properties of Kabuli chickpea protein as affected by high hydrostatic pressures

Author
item Xu, Yixiang
item SISMOUR, EDWARD - Virginia State University
item TUCKER, FERRICIA - Virginia State University
item RASBERRY, JAYLEN - Virginia State University
item Zhao, Wei
item RAO, QINCHUN - Florida State University
item ZHAO, YAQI - Florida State University
item Haff, Ronald - Ron
item YOUSUF, ANDAN - Virginia State University
item GAO, MEGAN - Clover Hill High School
item CHEN, ALLISON - University Of California Irvine

Submitted to: ACS Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/11/2024
Publication Date: 1/30/2024
Citation: Xu, Y., Sismour, E., Tucker, F., Rasberry, J., Zhao, W., Rao, Q., Zhao, Y., Haff, R.P., Yousuf, A., Gao, M., Chen, A. 2024. Structural and functional properties of Kabuli chickpea protein as affected by high hydrostatic pressures. ACS Food Science and Technology. 4(2):528-536. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00640.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.3c00640

Interpretive Summary: The plant-based foods industry has grown rapidly in recent years, with legumes emerging as one source of sustainable alternative dietary proteins. While chickpea is the the third most important legume, the globular, large and compact structure of chickpea protein negatively impacts functionality and subsequent utilization in food products. High-pressure processing (HPP) has shown efficacy in modifying protein conformation and structure. The objective of the present work was to investigate the effects of HPP on physicochemical, functional, and structural properties of Kabuli chickpea protein isolate. The results indicate that HPP treatment enhances the functional properties of chickpea protein isolate, which may be beneficial for potential functional food ingredient applications.

Technical Abstract: Kabuli chickpea protein isolates were treated by high-pressure processing (HPP) under different pressure levels and holding times, and their structural functional properties were investigated. Amino acid profiles of the isolates were not significantly (P>0.05) altered by treatment with the pressure level below 450 MPa. However, their secondary and tertiary structures changed significantly (P<0.05) characterized by decreasing ordered structure of ß-sheet (13.68%) with concurrently increasing random coil (16.95%) and increasing surface hydrophobicity (67%) and sulfhydryl activity. Structural alteration may explain the changes in the functional properties of the HPP-treated proteins as compared to their control counterparts, including increased water/oil absorption capacities of 193.25 g·100 g-1 and 188.40 g·100 g-1, emulsification activity index of 115.19 m2·g-1 and foaming capacity of 80.47%, and decreased protein solubility 22.23 mg·mL-1. These results demonstrate that HPP treatment enhances the functional properties of chickpea protein isolate, which may be beneficial for potential functional food ingredient applications.