Physico-Chemical Properties of the Flour, Protein Concentrate, and Protein Isolate of the Cupuassu (Theobroma grandiflorum Schum) Seed

• Published in: Journal of food science 2006-10, Vol.71 (8), p.S573-S578
• Main Authors: Carvalho, A.V, Garcia, N.H.P, Amaya-Farfan, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cocoa; cupuacu; cupuassu; defatted foods; flour; Food industries; food quality; Food science; functional properties; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Physical properties; physicochemical properties; plant protein concentrates; protein concentrate; protein content; protein isolate; protein isolates; Proteins; Seeds; Studies; Theobroma; Theobroma grandiflorum
• ISSN: 0022-1147; 1750-3841
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2006.00156.x

Defatted flour, protein concentrate, and protein isolate obtained from Amazonian cupuassu seeds were evaluated for their solubility properties, water and oil retention capacity, foam formation and stability, gelling properties, emulsifying ability, and emulsion stability. The protein contents of defatted flour, the concentrate, and the isolate were 27.65%, 31.18%, and 64.29%, respectively. As expected, the protein isolate exhibited higher solubility than the protein concentrate, achieving more than 90% solubility at pH 8.0. The flour and the protein concentrate, however, showed excellent water and oil retention capacities. High emulsifying capacity at pH 7.0 was also observed for all 3 products: 987 mL oil/g, 977 mL oil/g, and 1380 mL oil/g for the flour, protein concentrate, and protein isolate, respectively. Gelling properties were not exhibited by any of the products, but all of them exhibited good utilization potential, not only to enrich other foods but also to enhance relevant functional properties.