Isolation of amaranth flour proteins by fractionation procedures and sonication

The use of whole and defatted amaranth flour for protein isolation of Osborne fractions is described. Extractability of prolamins, the minor fraction, increased from 2.8 to 5% by adding a reducing agent. Glutelins proved to be poorly solubilized (3.3%) in dilute acetic acid, but they reached a high solubility value (40.8%) using a borate buffer in the presence of a reducing agent and a detergent; solubility remarkably declined without the latter two chemicals. Sonication (a fast and simple technique) in the presence of a detergent proved to be more efficient, compared with stirring, for extractability of total unreduced proteins.