Comparative studies on enhancing pea protein extraction recovery rates and structural integrity using ultrasonic and hydrodynamic cavitation technologies

Abstract

This study explored the efficacy of various cavitation technologies, including ultrasonic bath (USB), ultrasonic plate (US-plate), ultrasonic probe (US-probe), and hydrodynamic cavitation (HDC), in extracting proteins from peas. US-probe showed the highest protein recovery rate (52.53 g/hg protein in pea powder) among all lab-scale cavitation equipment while HDC demonstrated significant potential for scaling up, notably improving both the purity (80.35 g/hg dried precipitate) and recovery rate (56.85 g/hg) of pea protein isolate (PPI) compared to conventional extraction (CE). SDS-PAGE, LC-MS/MS, FTIR and Fluorescence analysis were used to analyse the impact of these cavitation technologies on the structures of pea protein. The results confirmed that cavitation preserved PPI's primary structure while altering its secondary and tertiary structures, particularly under US-probe treatment, which significantly unfolded proteins. The SEM results revealed a marked reduction in protein bodies adhering to starch granules in residues from US-probe and HDC treatments compared to CE, correlating with their higher protein recovery rates.