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. 2016 Oct 26;14(11):196.
doi: 10.3390/md14110196.

Enzymatic Pre-Treatment Increases the Protein Bioaccessibility and Extractability in Dulse (Palmaria palmata)

Hanne K Mæhre  1 , Ida-Johanne Jensen  2 , Karl-Erik Eilertsen  3
Affiliations

Enzymatic Pre-Treatment Increases the Protein Bioaccessibility and Extractability in Dulse (Palmaria palmata)

Hanne K Mæhre et al. Mar Drugs. .

Abstract

Several common protein extraction protocols have been applied on seaweeds, but extraction yields have been limited. The aims of this study were to further develop and optimize existing extraction protocols and to examine the effect of enzymatic pre-treatment on bioaccessibility and extractability of seaweed proteins. Enzymatic pre-treatment of seaweed samples resulted in a three-fold increase in amino acids available for extraction. Combining enzymatic pre-treatment with alkaline extraction resulted in a 1.6-fold increase in the protein extraction yield compared to a standard alkaline extraction protocol. A simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model showed that enzymatic pre-treatment of seaweed increased the amount of amino acids available for intestinal absorption 3.2-fold. In conclusion, enzymatic pre-treatment of seaweeds is effective for increasing the amount of amino acids available for utilization and may thus be an effective means for increasing the utilization potential of seaweed proteins. However, both the enzymatic pre-treatment protocol and the protein extraction protocol need further optimization in order to obtain optimal cost-benefit and results from the in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model need to be confirmed in clinical models.

Keywords: Palmaria palmata; amino acids; bioaccessibility; enzymatic treatment; extraction; gastrointestinal digestion; protein.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors report any conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Essential amino acids composition (mg·EAA·g−1 protein) in raw and enzymatically treated Palmaria palmata relative to the reference protein set by WHO/FAO/UNU. The values are given as mean ± SD (n = 5) and in percent of the reference protein. Tryptophan is lacking due to destruction during acidic hydrolysis.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Total amino acids (AA) liberated in the mouth, stomach and intestinal fluids during gastrointestinal (GI) digestion of raw and enzymatically treated Palmaria palmata. Values are reported as mean ± SD (n = 5) and in mg·AA·g−1·DW of the source material. Different letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05) between treatments, within each GI phase.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Flowchart of protein extraction and sample collections. AAA: amino acid analysis.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Flowchart of enzymatic pre-treatment and sample collections. GI: gastrointestinal, AAA: amino acid analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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