Animal Science and Food Technology

Technological aspects of plant protein modification for optimising nutritional support in modern dietetics

Roman Demchyna, Yaroslava Vavrysevych, Iryna Taraimovych
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Abstract

The aim of the article was to establish the technological parameters for the hydrolysis of plant proteins to obtain hydrolysates with a predictable amino acid composition, high bioavailability and stable functional and technological properties. The research methodology was based on a comparative analysis of isolates of soya, pea, rice and hemp proteins with a protein content of 76.8-90.4%. Hydrolysis was carried out using acid, alkali and enzymatic methods at controlled pH values of 2.0-8.5, temperatures of 37-58 °C and process durations of 30-180 minutes. To assess efficiency, the degree of hydrolysis, free amino acid concentration, molecular weight distribution of peptides, solubility, emulsifying capacity and foaming were determined. Bioavailability was assessed by simulating gastrointestinal digestion in vitro. The results showed that enzymatic hydrolysis achieved a substrate conversion rate of 38.6-44.9%, whereas acid hydrolysis did not exceed 24.3%. The highest solubility was demonstrated by soya protein hydrolysates (91.4%) and pea protein hydrolysates (87.2%). For rice protein, this figure increased from 42.8% to 74.5% following preliminary structural activation. The concentration of free amino acids in enzymatic hydrolysates increased by 2.3-3.1 times compared with native isolates. Peptide fractions with a molecular weight of 0.5-1 kDa provided the highest bioavailability, 68.7-72.4%, and the maximum transfer of amino acids into the diffusion phase. Combined mixtures of soya and rice proteins in a 2:1 ratio formed the most stable emulsion systems, with a stability of 84.6%. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of creating specialised protein compositions for sports, clinical and geriatric nutrition with controlled absorption characteristics. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the combination of kinetic analysis of hydrolysis, structural evaluation of peptide fractions and bioavailability modelling within a unified system for selecting processing regimes for plant protein raw materials to meet the needs of modern dietetics

Keywords

protein isolates; peptide fractions; functional and technological properties; in vitro digestion; proteolytic treatment

Suggested citation
Demchyna, R., Vavrysevych, Ya., & Taraimovych, I. (2026). Technological aspects of plant protein modification for optimising nutritional support in modern dietetics. Animal Science and Food Technology, 17(2), 32-49. https://doi.org/10.31548/animal.2.2026.32
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