Effects of sonication and high-pressure carbon dioxide processing on enzymatic hydrolysis of egg white proteins

The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of sonication and high-pressure carbon dioxide processing on proteolytic hydrolysis of egg white proteins and antioxidant activity of the obtained hydrolysates. It appeared that the ultrasound pretreatment resulted in an increase in the degree of hydrolysis of the enzymatic reaction while the high-pressure carbon dioxide processing showed an inhibition effect on the enzymatic hydrolysis of egg white proteins to some extent. The antioxidant activity of the obtained hydrolysates was improved by ultrasound pretreatment of egg white proteins at the pH 8.3. Thus, the combination of ultrasound pretreatment at the pH 8.3 and subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis with alcalase at 50°C and pH 8.0 could offer a new approach to the improvement of the functional properties of egg white proteins and their biological activity. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. E!6750]