Search Results (8)

Hempseed hydrolysates prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis have been previously shown to have potent antioxidant activity. The objective of this study is to examine lipid oxidation in beef and turkey meatballs in the presence of selected hempseed hydrolysate products. Alcalase hydrolyzed hempseed meal (AHM10) and hempseed protein isolate (AHPI10) were incorporated into meat products to determine their effects on oxidation over time. Changes in lipid oxidation levels over a 14-day period at 4 °C were determined using peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) methods. Additionally, sensory analyses of the cooked beef and turkey meatballs were performed on day 1 and day 14 of storage to determine the effect of hempseed hydrolysates on the sensory attributes of both meat systems. Overall, AHM10 at 0.4% acted most effectively in beef meatballs and showed enhanced antioxidant activity when compared to EDTA at 100 ppm. Specifically, its use maintained PV below 5.0 meq hydroperoxides/kg oil and TBARS below 1.8 mg MDA/kg oil across the 14-day period. In sensory analysis, no significant differences were found amongst the treatments for various attributes and panelists did not detect bitterness or off flavors. Thus, AHM10 is applicable in food systems as an alternative antioxidant to replace synthetic ones. Full article

This study investigated the potential of hempseed protein isolate (HPI) as a protein fortifier and wheat flour substitute in vegan muffins. HPI was incorporated at 0% (CON), 10% (HP10), 20% (HP20), and 30% (HP30) substitution levels, and muffins were evaluated for physicochemical, functional, and sensory properties. Protein content significantly increased from 9.61% (CON) to 19.40% (HP30), while baking loss decreased from 21.33% to 19.77%, reflecting HPI’s superior water-holding capacity. Texture analysis showed hardness decreased from 179.72 g/cm² (CON) to 137.73 g/cm² (HP30), resulting in softer muffins with higher chewiness. This correlated with a more aerated crumb structure and smoother surface at higher HPI levels, indicating improved structural integrity. Rheological analysis revealed increased batter viscosity and shear-thinning behavior with HPI fortification. FTIR analysis exhibited redshifts in the Amide I and Amide II bands, suggesting enhanced protein–protein interactions and hydrogen bonding in fortified HPI muffins. Antioxidant activity increased significantly, with ABTS radical scavenging values rising from 32.66% (CON) to 46.28% (HP30), attributed to the bioactive peptides and phenolic compounds (144.67 mg GAE/g) in HPI. However, in vitro protein digestibility (IVPD) decreased from 66.08% to 42.63% due to protein–starch–lipid interactions inhibiting hydrolysis. Sensory evaluation showed no significant differences in aroma, taste, mouthfeel, or overall acceptability, with scores between 4.83 and 5.33 among all samples. These results demonstrate that HPI incorporation of up to 30% significantly enhances the nutritional profile, antioxidant activity, and textural properties of vegan muffins while maintaining overall sensory quality, supporting HPI’s potential as a sustainable protein fortifier in plant-based bakery products. Full article

Hemp seeds are currently used mainly for oil extraction, generating waste that could be potentially exploited further as a source of proteins and other bioactives. This study aims to valorise hemp waste (Cannabis sativa, L.) from previous oil extraction as a source of protein by analysing the effect of high-pressure processing (HPP) pre-treatments (0–600 MPa; 4–8 min) combined with conventional or ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) methods on protein recovery/purity, amino acid composition, and protein structure. Overall, maximum protein recovery (≈62%) was achieved with HPP (200 MPa, 8 min) with UAE. The highest protein purity (≈76%) was achieved with HPP (200 MPa, 4 min) with UAE. Overall, UAE improved the extraction of all amino acids compared to conventional extraction independently of HPP pre-treatments. Arg/Lys ratios of the protein isolates ranged between 3.78 and 5.34, higher than other vegetable protein sources. SDS-PAGE did not show visible differences amongst the protein isolates. These results seem to indicate the advantages of the use of UAE for protein recovery in the food industry and the need for further studies to optimise HPP/UAE for an accurate estimation of processing costs and their effects on the composition and structure of proteins to contribute further to the circular economy. Full article

Hempseed protein isolate (HPI) has drawn significant attention as a promising source of plant-based protein due to its high nutritional value. The poor functionality (e.g., solubility and emulsifying properties) of HPI has impeded its food application for years. This study provides important new information on hempseed protein extraction, which may provide further insights into the extraction of other high-thiol-based plant proteins to make valuable plant-based products with improved functional properties. In this study, HPI was produced from hempseed meals using the AE-IEP method. The underlying mechanisms and extraction kinetics were investigated under different experimental conditions (pH 9.0–12.0, temperature 24–70 °C, and time 0–120 min). The results suggested that disulphide bond formation is an inevitable side reaction during hempseed protein extraction and that the protein yield and the free -SH content can be influenced by different extraction conditions. A high solution pH and temperature, and long extraction time result in increased protein yield but incur the formation of more intermolecular disulphide bonds, which might be the reason for the poor functionality of the HPI. For instance, it was particularly observable that the protein solubility of HPI products reduced when the extraction pH was increased. The emulsifying properties and surface tension data demonstrated that the functionality of the extracted hempseed protein was significantly reduced at longer extraction times. A response surface methodology (RSM) optimization model was used to determine the conditions that could maximise HPI functionality. However, a three-fold reduction in protein yield must be sacrificed to obtain the protein with this high functionality. Full article

Hempseed protein has become a promising candidate as a future alternative protein source due to its high nutritional value. In the current study, hempseed protein isolate (HPI) was obtained using ultrasonic-assisted extraction with the aim to improve the functionality of HPI via protein structure modification. The solubility of HPI could be improved twofold under 20 kHz ultrasound processing compared to conventional alkaline extraction-isoelectric point precipitation. The protein solubility was gradually enhanced as the ultrasonic power improved, whereas excessive ultrasound intensity would cause a decline in protein solubility. Ultrasonic processing was found to have beneficial effects on the other functionalities of the extracted HPI, such as emulsifying and foaming properties. This improvement can be ascribed to the physical effects of acoustic cavitation that changed the secondary and tertiary structures of the protein to enhance surface hydrophobicity and decrease the particle size of the extracted protein aggregates. In addition, more available thiols were observed in US-treated samples, which could be another reason for improved functionality. However, the results of this study also revealed that prolonged high-power ultrasound exposure may eventually have a detrimental impact on HPI functional properties due to protein aggregation. Overall, this study suggests that high intensity ultrasound can enhance the functionality of HPI, which may ultimately improve its value in HPI-based food products. Full article

The use of natural surfactants including plant extracts, plant hydrocolloids and proteins in nanoemulsion systems has received commercial interest due to demonstrated safety of use and potential health benefits of plant products. In this study, a whey protein isolate (WPI) from a byproduct of cheese production was used to stabilize a nanoemulsion formulation that contained hempseed oil and the Aesculus hippocastanum L. extract (AHE). A Box–Behnken experimental design was used to set the formulation criteria and the optimal nanoemulsion conditions, used subsequently in follow-up experiments that measured specifically emulsion droplet size distribution, stability tests and visual quality. Regression analysis showed that the concentration of HSO and the interaction between HSO and the WPI were the most significant factors affecting the emulsion polydispersity index and droplet size (nm) (p < 0.05). Rheological tests, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and L*a*b* color parameters were also taken to characterize the physicochemical properties of the emulsions. Emulsion systems with a higher concentration of the AHE had a potential metabolic activity up to 84% in a microbiological assay. It can be concluded from our results that the nanoemulsion system described herein is a safe and stable formulation with potential biological activity and health benefits that complement its use in the food industry. Full article

In this paper, we present the possibility of using pea protein isolates as a stabilizer for hempseed oil (HSO)-based water/oil emulsions in conjunction with lecithin as a co-surfactant. A Box-Behnken design was employed to build polynomial models for optimization of the ultrasonication process to prepare the emulsions. The stability of the system was verified by droplet size measurements using dynamic light scattering (DLS) as well as centrifugation and thermal challenge tests. The z-ave droplet diameters of optimized emulsion were 209 and 207 nm after preparation and 1 week storage, respectively. The concentration of free Linoleic acid (C18:2; n-6) was used for calculation of entrapment efficiency in prepared nanoemulsions. At optimum conditions of the process, up to 98.63% ± 1.95 of entrapment was achieved. FTIR analysis and rheological tests were also performed to evaluate the quality of oil and emulsion, and to verify the close-to-water like behavior of the prepared samples compared to the viscous nature of the original oil. Obtained results confirmed the high impact of lecithin and pea protein concentrations on the emulsion droplet size and homogeneity confirmed by microscopic imaging. The presented results are the first steps towards using hempseed oil-based emulsions as a potential food additive carrier, such as flavor. Furthermore, the good stability of the prepared nanoemulsion gives opportunities for potential use in biomedical and cosmetic applications. Full article

Medicinal cannabis is used to relieve the symptoms of certain medical conditions, such as epilepsy. Cannabis is a controlled substance and until recently was illegal in many jurisdictions. Consequently, the study of this plant has been restricted. Proteomics studies on Cannabis sativa reported so far have been primarily based on plant organs and tissues other than buds, such as roots, hypocotyl, leaves, hempseeds and flour. As far as we know, no optimisation of protein extraction from cannabis reproductive tissues has been attempted. Therefore, we set out to assess different protein extraction methods followed by mass spectrometry-based proteomics to recover, separate and identify the proteins of the reproductive organs of medicinal cannabis, apical buds and isolated trichomes. Database search following shotgun proteomics was limited to protein sequences from C. sativa and closely related species available from UniprotKB. Our results demonstrate that a buffer containing the chaotrope reagent guanidine hydrochloride recovers many more proteins than a urea-based buffer. In combination with a precipitation with trichloroacetic acid, such buffer proved optimum to identify proteins using a trypsin digestion followed by nano-liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (nLC-MS/MS) analyses. This is validated by focusing on enzymes involved in the phytocannabinoid pathway. Full article