Implications for structural and digestive properties of broad bean protein modified by pulsed electric field

Abstract

From the perspective of efficient, environmentally friendly processing and less denaturation of plant proteins, the study aimed to investigate the effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) with electric field intensity (EFI, 0–12.5 kV/cm), fixed pulse frequency (500 Hz), pulse width (6 μs), and duration (15 min) on the structural and digestive properties of broad bean protein (BBP). The multispectral analysis and physicochemical property results indicated that PEF disrupted the tertiary and secondary structures as well as intermolecular forces and decreased the compactness of spatial structures of BBP. Furthermore, the improved digestive properties of BBP with elevated EFI were manifested by the increased digestibility (from 29.51% to 60.28%) as well as the decreased molecular weight and particle size of the digesta. Correlation analysis indicated that the surface hydrophobicity, random coils, and β-turns of BBP were positively correlated with the digestibility, whereas the proportions of intermolecular forces were converse, and the proportion of intramolecular disulfide bonds was weakly correlated with digestibility. PEF is designed to mitigate the denaturation of BBP while improving the digestive properties.