Digestibility, toxicity and metabolic effects of rapeseed and sunflower protein hydrolysates in mice

Abstract

The digestibility (in vitro), toxicity and metabolic effects of rapeseed (RPH) and sunflower (SPH) protein hydrolysates have been evaluated in a murine animal model. The enzyme Alcalase^® was employed to obtain a mild enzymatic hydrolysis of rapeseed and sunflower defatted seed meals (DSM) protein isolates. Both hydrolysates showed higher in vitro digestibility than the respective DSM, presumably as a consequence of the hydrolysis process that they had undergone. In vivo, RPH and SPH were well tolerated. Body and organ weights, biochemical blood parameters from treated male mice were comparable to controls. Food intake was regular in RPH and SPH animals, suggesting a good palatability of the hydrolysates. Not relevant perturbations of the principal hepatic and renal drug metabolism enzymes were observed in RPH or SPH mice. In conclusion, protein hydrolysates from sunflower and rapeseed DSM did not determine relevant toxicological effects; therefore, they could be considered as alternative protein sources and/or food ingredients.

Keywords:

• Mice
• protein
• hydrolysate
• rapeseed
• sunflower
• toxicity
• study

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Laura Righetti and Lorena Malaguti for cooperation in paper revision.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Additional information

Funding

Financial and material support were provided by grants from the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR, Italy). The trials were performed as a part of the activities of the Project - Integrated Technology System for the Valorization of Biodiesel By-products (VALSO), financed by Ministry of Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies (MiPAAF, Italy) [D.M. 17533/7303/10 del 29/04/2010] and coordinated by the Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, Research Centre for Industrial Crops, CREA-CIN, of Bologna, Italy.