Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

Characteristics of Precipitation-formed Polyethylene Glycol Microgels Are Controlled by Molecular Weight of Reactants
Published on: December 23, 2013
Enzymatic hydrolysis of lupin protein isolates-Changes in the molecular weight distribution, technofunctional
Katharina Schlegel1,2, Katharina Sontheimer2, Andrea Hickisch2
1Chair of Aroma and Smell Research Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy Emil Fischer Center Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg Erlangen Germany.
Abstract:
Enzymatic hydrolysis of lupin protein isolates (LPI; Lupinus angustifolius L.) was performed with nine different protease preparations to investigate their effect on technofunctionality, sensory properties, and the integrity of the proteins to estimate the reduction of the immunoreactivity. Alcalase 2.4 L, papain, and pepsin were most effective in the degradation of the α- and β-conglutin examined by SDS-PAGE analysis, although the degree of hydrolysis only slightly increased. The technofunctional properties of LPI-solubility, emulsifying, and foaming activity-were improved by most of the proteolytic enzymes with the most impressive increase from 980% foam activity for LPI up to 3,614% foam activity for pepsin hydrolysate. The formation of bitterness, most likely linked to generation of bitter peptides, was pronounced in the Alcalase hydrolysate, while the other hydrolysates did not show an extensive increase in bitterness compared to the LPI. Other sensory attributes of the hydrolysates-with the exception of Alcalase treatment-were also very similar to the LPI. The results of this study show the potential of enzymatic degradation of LPI to modify the IgE-reacting polypeptides and to improve the technofunctionality of the isolates and therefore their use as food ingredients.
Related Concept Videos
Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution
Molecular Chaperones and Protein Folding
The...
Hydrolysis of ATP
If one phosphate group is removed, a molecule of ADP—adenosine diphosphate—remains, along with inorganic phosphate. ADP can be further hydrolyzed to AMP—adenosine...
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction in which the addition of water breaks down a polymer into its simpler monomer units. For example, peptides break into amino acids, carbohydrates into simple sugars, and DNA into nucleotides. Enzymes often facilitate these processes.
Hydrolysis Reverses Dehydration Synthesis
Complex carbohydrates can be broken down by breaking the bonds between individual sugar units. The reaction breaks a glycosidic bond as water is added to the compound. The...
Polymers: Defining Molecular Weight
The number average molecular weight (Mn) is the summation of the number...
Distribution of Molecular Speeds

