Effect of Enzymatic Pre-Treatment on Oat Flakes Protein Recovery and Properties

Oats are considered an exceptional source of high-quality protein. Protein isolation methods define their nutritional value and further applicability in food systems. The aim of this study was to recover the oat protein using a wet-fractioning method and investigate the protein functional properties and nutritional values among the processing streams. The oat protein was concentrated through enzymatic extraction, eliminating starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), treating oat flakes with hydrolases, and reaching protein concentrations of up to about 86% in dry matter. The increased ionic strength from adding sodium chloride (NaCl) improved protein aggregation and resulted in increased protein recovery. Ionic changes improved protein recovery in provided methods by up to 24.8 % by weight. Amino acid (AA) profiles were determined in the obtained samples, and protein quality was compared with the required pattern of indispensable amino acids. Furthermore, functional properties of the oat protein, such as solubility, foamability, and liquid holding capacity, were investigated. The solubility of the oat protein was below 7 %; foamability averaged below 8%. The water and oil-holding reached a ratio of up to 3.0 and 2.1 for water and oil, respectively. Our findings suggest that oat protein could be a potential ingredient for food industries requiring a protein of high purity and nutritional value.