Supercritical CO₂ Treatment to Modify Techno-Functional Properties of Proteins Extracted from Tomato Seeds

Tomato seeds are a rich source of protein that can be utilized for various industrial food purposes. This study delves into the effects of using supercritical CO₂ (scCO₂) on the structure and techno-functional properties of proteins extracted from defatted tomato seeds. The defatted meal was obtained using hexane (TSMH) and scCO₂ (TSMC), and proteins were extracted using water (PEWH and PEWC) and saline solution (PESH and PESC). The results showed that scCO₂ treatment significantly improved the techno-functional properties of protein extracts, such as oil-holding capacity and foaming capacity (especially for PEWC). Moreover, emulsifying capacity and stability were enhanced for PEWC and PESC, ranging between 4.8 and 46.7% and 11.3 and 96.3%, respectively. This was made possible by the changes in helix structure content induced by scCO₂ treatment, which increased for PEWC (5.2%) and decreased for PESC (8.0%). Additionally, 2D electrophoresis revealed that scCO₂ hydrolyzed alkaline proteins in the extracts. These findings demonstrate the potential of scCO₂ treatment in producing modified proteins for food applications.