Reports

Pure muscle proteins from fish

Published:

01/06/2009

Authors:

Ragnar Jóhannsson, Sjöfn Sigurgísladóttir, Guðjón Þorkelsson, Arnljótur B. Bergsson

Supported by:

AVS, Technology Development Fund

Contact

Guðjón Þorkelsson

Strategic Scientist

gudjon.thorkelsson@matis.is

Pure muscle proteins from fish

Extensive research was carried out into the physical properties of muscle proteins from fish, especially cod. The project Pure muscle protein from fish proved to be another main support for the operations of Iceprotein ehf. during the company's formative years. The report describes the main results in the production process of refined muscle proteins from cuts and blueberries for use in fillets and ready-made products and the development that took place at Iceprotein ehf. when scaling up. The company Iceprotein is almost the result of the work that was put into the project. Fishballs were produced that were later eaten and evaluated and came out well in various ways, fishballs with isolated proteins as well as minced fish deteriorated less during cooking than fishballs that did not contain isolated proteins.

Great effort was used in viscoelastic measurements of cod muscle proteins. The project Pure muscle protein from fish proved to be one of the main pillars in the operations of Iceprotein ehf. in the offset of the company. In this report main results of the scale-up process at Iceprotein are followed through. The company Iceprotein basically spun off from the work done in this project. Fish balls from fish mince and fish protein isolates were prepared cooked, consumed and analyzed, fish balls containing FPI showed less weight loss in cooking than fish balls that did not contain FPI.

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Reports

Blue whiting as a target food

Published:

01/03/2008

Authors:

Margrét Geirsdóttir, Ragnar Jóhannsson

Supported by:

Rannís

Contact

Margrét Geirsdóttir

Project Manager

mg@matis.is

Blue whiting as a target food

The aim of the project was to answer the research question: What bioactivity can be obtained from peptides extracted from blue whiting with enzymes? Bioactivity is a prerequisite for the use of blue whiting as a target food. Isolated blue whiting proteins were used as raw materials. The study showed that degraded blue whiting proteins have bioactivity. However, the sensory properties of products did not prove to be good enough and yields were low. This was especially so due to the difficulty of obtaining fresh blue whiting as a raw material. In the second steps of the project, it was decided to use cod. The aim was to investigate in particular whether isolated cod proteins had other properties than hacking in terms of sensory evaluation and antihypertensive properties of products. The result was that no differences in these characteristics were found in the study. The project investigated the interaction of hydrolysis with enzymes and processing properties and bioactivity. The interaction of hydrolyzed blue whiting proteins isolated by a new method and their bioactivity has not been performed before and was an international novelty. The project acquired extensive knowledge in the field of enzyme degradation and the bioactivity properties of protein products.

The aim of the project was to answer the question: What kind of bioactive properties do peptides produced by enzyme hydrolysis of blue whiting have? Some sort of bioactivity is needed if they are to be used in functional food. The substrate for the hydrolysis was isolated blue whiting proteins. Well-known, commercially available enzymes were used to hydrolyze the proteins to different degrees of hydrolysis (%DH). The blue whiting hydrolysates showed bioactive properties, but their sensory characteristics were not good. Furthermore, the yield of the process was low. The reason for this was a shortage of fresh raw material. Thus, in the next steps cod was therefore used. The main aim was to study whether different sensory and bioactive characters were achieved when isolated proteins were used compared to mince. The results of the project indicate that there is no difference. In the project the connection between enzyme hydrolysis and functional and bioactive properties was examined. Main emphasis was on the effect of using isolated proteins as raw material for enzyme hydrolysis. In the project important knowledge in the field of enzyme hydrolysis and bioactivity was gained that will facilitate future research.

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