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The rising global population has led to an escalating demand for affordable, high-quality proteins intended for human consumption. Different efforts have been made to develop efficient and greener solvents for protein production. Most proteins are produced from raw plant and animal parts, but the use of the residues in commercial-scale protein production is very scarce. Therefore, this research aims to collect an overview of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) for protein extraction and purification. In this context, solvent type and operating parameters should also be selected to modify DESs and NADESs physicochemical characteristics for the achievement of high protein yield with preserved functional properties. The results show that appropriate implementation of combined DESs and NADESs with advanced extraction and purification techniques can improve protein yield and prevent detrimental effects on the extracted protein and environment. The application of DESs and NADESs can increase the efficiency of protein extraction and recovery in various parts of plants and animals by 55.72% and 98.16%, respectively, with purity reaching 99.82%. This research also reviews safety, environmental impacts, and drawbacks as well as shows feasible future recommendations for commercial-scale protein production processes. NADESs are safer than petroleum-based solvents but have higher toxicity than DESs. Magnetic adsorbent and magnetic solid-phase extraction methods have been shown to reduce labor-intensive steps, resulting in shorter operating times and superior protein recovery while maintaining functional properties. Meanwhile, protein producers' knowledge and motivation to use DES and NADES are strengthened.

Protein concentrate (PC) is a potential solution to address the global protein shortage, with Indonesian shortfin eel being a suitable raw material. This research investigates the impact of ultrasound pretreatment and extraction parameters on the nutritional quality of eel protein concentrate (EPC). The study involved ultrasonic pretreatment at different times and power, and solvent extraction with different solvents, temperature, and solvent-solid-feed-ratio (SSFR). The results showed that the recommended conditions for EPC preparation were a mixture of ethanol-hexane, ultrasonic pretreatment at 250 W for 25 min, extraction temperature and SSFR of 40 °C and 6:1 v/w. The protein content of EPC increased gradually with the increase of SSFR until it reached a ratio of 6:1, further increase in SSFR promoted the development of a pseudo-homogeneous system, leading to a reduction in the solvent-eel flesh contact and the relative velocity between the extracting solvent and eel flesh, and consequently decreased the extraction yield. The prepared EPC is classified as type B EPC, with a protein content of 89.62 %w.b. and a lipid content of 2.21 %w.b. The EPC contains five types of peptides with a molecular weight of 5.00–76.00 kDa, with the main fraction having a MW ranging from 10.00 to 15.00 kDa, indicating potential for functional food products.

Fish protein concentrate (FPC) is considered as a promising alternative to overcome the world’s shortage of affordable animal-based protein. Snakehead fish (Channa striata) offers a large potential as a raw material for FPC manufacture. This work aims to investigate the influence of solvent types (ethanol, n-hexane, and an azeotrope mixture of ethanol + n-hexane), extraction time (0, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 minutes), temperature (30, 40, 50, and 60°C), liquid solvent volume to solid feed fish flesh mass ratio (LSSFR) (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 mL/g), and ultrasonic power (100, 200, 300, and 400 W) on the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) to manufacture high-quality FPC from snakehead fish. After being subjected to UAE, the fish flesh was filtered and dried under reduced pressure at 55°C. The optimum UAE conditions for the manufacture of FPC from snakehead fish flesh were using ethanol as solvent, LSSFR (6 mL/g), temperature (40°C), ultrasonic power (200 W), and extraction time (25 minutes). The resulted FPC can be categorized as type A, which contains protein (73.17%) and fat (0.73%). An SDS-PAGE electrophoresis evaluation proved that the FPC contained 12 types of peptides having molecular weight (MW) ranging from 4.00 to 174.00 kDa with the major fractions being those with MWs ranged from 4.00 to 11.00 kDa and the minor fractions with MWs between 71.70 to 174.00 kDa. Indeed, the presence of both low and high MW peptides in the FPC indicates its potential applications in the development of nutritious food products.

Spray drying is one of the most preferred preservation methods that converts an aqueous feed containing solvent, carrier agent, and food compounds into dry powder with superb physicochemical and functional properties. This paper reviews the fundamental and important operating parameters, product characteristics, current and potential applications, and techno-economic aspects of spray drying. The key operating parameters should be chosen to achieve the highest spray drying performance in terms of operational efficiency and product quality. A successful spray drying operation is greatly dependent on the feed material properties, the mechanical design of the equipment, and selected operating parameters. This paper also found that water content, water activity, and glass transition temperature are the main parameters that really determine product quality in terms of shelf life and storage conditions of food powder obtained from the spray drying process. Recent advances in the development of new heatless spray drying technology in the manufacture of food flavoring and nutraceuticals are interesting to develop, in addition to the potential to produce nano-sized powders with distinctive properties and the use of superheated steam and carbon dioxide to sterilize products. The appropriate information on spray drying technology featured in this paper is targeted to reinforce researcher and practitioner understanding for widening its applications in pertinent food industries. Doi: 10.28991/HEF-2024-05-02-09 Full Text: PDF

Research background. Various approaches have been used to present functional lipids including lycopene in a palatable food form to consumers. However, being highly hydrophobic, lycopene is insoluble in aqueous systems and has a limited bioavailability in the body. Lycopene nanodispersion is expected to improve the properties of lycopene, but its stability and bioaccessibility are also affected by emulsifier type and environmental conditions such as pH, ionic strength and temperature. Experimental approach. The influence of soy lecithin, sodium caseinate and soy lecithin/sodium caseinate at 1:1 ratio on the physicochemical properties and stability of lycopene nanodispersion prepared using the emulsification-evaporation methods before and after treatment at different pH, ionic strength and temperature were investigated. The in vitro bioaccessibility of the nanodispersions was also studied. Results and conclusion. Under neutral pH conditions, nanodispersion stabilized with soy lecithin had the highest physical stability and the smallest particle size (78 nm), the lowest polydispersity index (PDI) value (0.180) and highest zeta potential (-64 mV) but the lowest lycopene concentration (1.826 mg/100 mL). Conversely, nanodispersion stabilized with sodium caseinate had the lowest physical stability. Combining the soy lecithin with sodium caseinate at 1:1 ratio resulted in a physically stable lycopene nanodispersion with the highest lycopene concentration (2.656 mg/100 mL). The lycopene nanodispersion produced by soy lecithin also had high physical stability under different pH range (pH=2-8) where the particle size, PDI and zeta potential remained fairly consistent. The nanodispersion containing sodium caseinate was unstable and droplet aggregation occurred when the pH was reduced close to the isoelectric point of sodium caseinate (pH=4-5). The particle size and PDI value of nanodispersion stabilized with soy lecithin and sodium caseinate mixture increased sharply when the NaCl concentration increased above 100 mM, while the soy lecithin and sodium caseinate counterparts were more stable. All of the nanodispersions showed good stability with respect to temperature changes (30–100 °C) except for the one stabilized by sodium caseinate, which exhibited an increased particle size when heated to above 60 °C. The combination of soy lecithin and sodium caseinate was found to increase the bioaccessibility of the lycopene nanodispersion. The physicochemical properties, stability and extent of the lycopene nanodispersion digestion highly depend on the emulsifier type. Novelty and scientific contribution. Producing a nanodispersion is considered one of the best ways to overcome the poor water solubility, stability and bioavailability issues of lycopene. Currently, studies related to lycopene-fortified delivery systems, particularly in the form of nanodispersion, are still limited. The information obtained on the physicochemical properties, stability and bioaccessibility of lycopene nanodispersion is useful for the development of an effective delivery system for various functional lipids.