Consider hydrolysates from Pacific whiting with improved functional properties.

If you're looking for an ingredient or additive that can facilitate an unusual characteristic in a product, then consider protein hydrolysates sourced from Pacific whiting. The hydrolysates may produce better foams than bovine serum albumin can.

Using the protease Alcalase from Novozymes, Mexican scientists produced hydrolysates from fish muscle that could substitute for such functional compounds as bovine serum albumin and sodium caseinate. Utilizing commercial enzymes to make highly functional hydrolysates from marine species of low commercial value can make the most of a vast underutilized resource, such as Pacific whiting.

Research indicates that hydrolysates produced from Pacific whiting muscle can be used as ingredients or additives to impart a desired characteristic to food products or to increase their stability during storage. They might function as emulsifying, foaming or dispersing agents in sausages, mayonnaise, salad dressings, beverages and creams, for example. Protein hydrolysates are often used as a water-holding agents in meat products to improve the product's moisture and succulence. Emulsifiers reduce the surface tension between two immiscible phases at their interface, such as two liquids, a liquid and a gas, or a liquid and a solid--enabling them to mix.

The investigators used the protease to produce hydrolysates from Pacific whiting with 10%, 15% and 20% degrees of hydrolysis. They examined the functionality of the hydrolysates for solubility, emulsifying and foaming properties over a pH range of 4.0 to 10.0. They compared these results with bovine serum albumin and sodium caseinate. Almost complete stability was found in freeze-dried hydrolysates at all pHs that were examined. Moreover, the degree of hydrolysis did not affect the emulsifying properties, which were higher than sodium caseinate at pH 4.

The foaming capacity of the hydrolysates was equal to or even better than bovine serum albumin, except at pH 4.0. The researchers indicate that hydrolysates from Pacific whiting can be produced with similar or better functional properties than the food ingredients used as standard.

Further information. Ramon Pacheco-Aguilar, Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo, AC, Carretera a la Victoria Km. 0.6, Apdo. Postal 1735, CP 83000 Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; email: mailto:[e-mail]