Abstract
The use of mechanically deboned poultry meat (MDPM) as a source of raw protein for the enzymatic preparation of hydrolysates was investigated using commercial proteases Alcalase and Flavourzyme. Hydrolysis conditions were optimized by response surface methodology, and the influence of temperature, pH, and enzyme concentration were evaluated to determine the hydrolysis index. For Alcalase, optimal values of temperature, pH, and enzyme concentration were found to be 50°C, 7.5%, and 2.5%, respectively, while for Flavourzyme the optimized variables were at 50°C, 6.0%, and 3.5%, respectively. Compared to raw MDPM, Alcalase produced a very high recovery of 89% of the nitrogen from the hydrolysates, while for Flavourzyme recovery was around 67%. Alcalase was used to produce a spray-dried hydrolysate containing 62% of total protein with molecular weights ranging from 5,807 to 12,000 Da, and had excellent microbiological quality.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors wish to thank CNPq for the financial support of this work.