Production of BCAA Fortified Soybean Powder Hydrolysate Using Enzymes from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and Its Application in Functional Protein Formula Foods

Abstract

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) are essential nutrients and include leucine, isoleucine, and valine, found in meat, dairy, and legumes. BCAA stimulate the building of protein in muscles and possibly reduce muscle breakdown. We prepared BCAA-fortified soybean powder hydrolysate (SPH) by treatment with crude enzyme from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens NY124. We compared the soybean powder and SPH in terms of protein distribution and physical or taste properties using high-performance liquid chromatography, sodium dodecyl-sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, scanning electron microscopy, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, or electron tongue analysis. The protein formulas were produced with 33% whey protein and SPH (0%, 9%, 17%, 25%, and 34% addition) and then evaluated for their BCAA contents, physical properties, and product stabilities. Compared to soybean powder, SPH showed 10 times higher BCAA and free amino acid content, smaller protein distribution with less than 43 kDa weight, and a stronger taste spectrum with respect of sweetness and saltiness. Protein formulas with 25% SPH showed higher BCAA content, and optimum physical and product stability with quality values similar to commercial products. Therefore, these results indicate that SPH or SPH protein formulas could have potential applications as food products or protein supplements with enriched BCAA content.