Characterization and Comparison of Structure, Thermal and Functional Characteristics of Various Commercial Pea Proteins

Abstract

Pea protein present an attractive raw material for its excellent nutritional value and functional properties. However, data on structure, physicochemical and functional properties of various commercial pea proteins remain scarce. In this work, comparison of structure, composition, thermal and functional characteristics of various commercially available pea proteins were investigated to evaluate their potential application in liquid and solid foods. Amino acid composition, total protein (ranging from 76.49 to 84.33 g/g) and soluble protein (ranging from 57.79 to 61.03 g/g) of pea protein samples were significantly different (P<0.05). DSC analysis showed that denaturation temperature of PP-Ⅳ was significantly higher than other proteins. FTIR showed that PP-Ⅳ had higher random coil and lower regular structures than other proteins. PP-Ⅳ also had higher total hydrophilic amino acids than other seven samples, which was consistent with higher significant solubility and better foam stability. On the score plot of PCA analysis, PPI-Ⅳ had the highest score compared with other proteins. For all these reasons, PP-Ⅳ, which has excellent characteristics in protein composition and functional properties than other proteins, was recommended as an excellent food matrix. This provides serviceable information in selecting suitable pea protein to achieve more perfect applications.

Keywords: Commercial pea protein, Structure, Thermal characteristics, Functional properties