Camel milk protein hydrolysates with improved technofunctional properties and enhanced antioxidant potential in in vitro and in food model systems

Camel milk protein hydrolysates (CMPH) were generated using proteolytic enzymes, such as alcalase, bromelain, and papain, to explore the effect on the technofunctional properties and antioxidant potential under in vitro and in real food model systems. Characterization of the CMPH via degree of hydrolysis, sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE, and HPLC revealed that different proteins in camel milk underwent degradation at different degrees after enzymatic hydrolysis using 3 different enzymes for 2, 4, and 6 h, with papain displaying the highest degradation. Technofunctional properties, such as emulsifying activity index, surface hydrophobicity, and protein solubility, were higher in CMPH than unhydrolyzed camel milk proteins. However, the water and fat absorption capacity were lower in CMPH compared with unhydrolyzed camel milk proteins. Antioxidant properties as assessed by 2,2-azinobis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities and metal-chelating activity were enhanced after hydrolysis, in contrast to ferric-reducing antioxidant power which showed a decrease after hydrolysis. The CMPH were also tested in real food model systems for their potential to inhibit lipid peroxidation in fish mince and grape seed oil-in-water emulsion, and we found that papain-produced hydrolysate displayed higher inhibition than alcalase- and bromelain-produced hydrolysates. Therefore, the CMPH demonstrated effective antioxidant potential in vitro as well as in real food systems and showed enhanced functional properties, which guarantees their potential applications in functional foods. The present study is one of few reports available on CMPH being explored in vitro as well as in real food model systems.