Properties of Hemoglobin Decolorized with a Histidine-Specific Protease

This study investigated the application of Aspergilloglutamic peptidase (AGP) on porcine hemoglobin decolorization. AGP from fungus Aspergillus niger is identified to possess a high preference towards the histidine residues. As histidine residues in hemoglobin are known to coordinate the heme group within the globin molecule, we therefore hypothesized that incubating hemoglobin with a histidine-specific protease would efficiently separate the non-heme peptides from the heme-enriched peptides with a minimum degree of hydrolysis. AGP-decolored porcine hemoglobin hydrolysates were assessed on their functional (for example, color, emulsification, foaming, and water binding) and sensory properties. The results were compared with commercially available blood-derived proteins (subtilisin-decolored hemoglobin hydrolysates and plasma protein). It was observed that AGP is able to effectively decolor hemoglobin. The degree of hydrolysis (DH) increased less than 3% using AGP to achieve 90% color reduction of hemoglobin, whereas a DH increase of more than 20% is needed using subtilisin. The AGP-decolored hemoglobin hydrolysates (AGP-Hb) possess good emulsification, foaming, and water binding properties, which are better or comparable with the plasma protein, and much better than the subtilisin-decolored hemoglobin hydrolysates (subtilisin-Hb). The model canned meat with addition of AGP-Hb showed the highest value in hardness, springiness, and chewiness from the texture analysis. Furthermore, the canned meat with AGP-Hb was found to have a better sensory profile than the ones with addition of subtilisin-Hb and plasma protein.