High Voltage Electrical Treatments as a tool allowing improvement of the enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins

高压电气处理（HVET）包括对处理过的食品施加高强度电场脉冲（从几纳秒到几毫秒）。HVET使用电力作为能源，而电力可以来自可再生能源。众所周知，加拿大57.6%的电力来自于流水和落水产生的能量（水力发电）。在曲海，水力发电占95.3%，与其他省份和国家相比，该省在电力生产的可持续性方面处于领先地位。因此，HVET可以成为传统热加工对食品质量和环境产生负面影响的可持续替代方案。本研究计划旨在研究不同的脉冲电场、电流光和电弧对食物分子性质的影响。特别是，在未来几年，我的研究计划将集中在旨在通过应用HVET改善单个乳清蛋白酶解的先驱研究上。第一步将是研究HVET对乳清蛋白（如-乳球蛋白和-乳清蛋白）的结构和性质的影响。其次，电预处理的蛋白质将被水解，得到的肽部分将被表征。最后，将对获得的蛋白质水解产物的生物学和功能活性进行研究。拟议的研究活动将允许探索HVET对复杂分子（如蛋白质）的结构和性质的作用的基本方面，并在食品化学和电化学之间建立新的桥梁。HVET对蛋白质结构的修饰可以在酶解过程中产生新的生物活性和功能活性肽。从长远的角度来看，HVET对不同食物分子的修饰将允许控制其物理化学和生物特性，并将提供增加其价值的机会。创造没有显著环境影响的高附加值产品将提高食品生产线的生态效率。

High Voltage Electrical Treatments (HVET) comprise the application of high intensity electric field pulsations (from several nanoseconds to several milliseconds) to the treated food product. HVET use electricity as a source of energy, which could be derived from renewable sources. It is known that 57.6 % of Canadian electricity is derived from the energy created by running and falling water (hydroelectricity). In Québec, the hydroelectricity accounts 95.3 %, which makes this province a leader in terms of sustainability of electricity production in comparison to other provinces and countries. Hence, HVET could be a sustainable alternative to the traditional thermal processing negatively affecting food quality and environment. The proposed research program aims to study the impact of different HVET (Pulsed Electric Field, Electrical Streamer and Electrical Arc) on the properties of food molecules. Particularly, for the coming years, my research program will be focused on the pioneer studies aiming the improvement of enzymatic hydrolysis of individual whey proteins by application of HVET. The first step will be studying the impact of HVET on the structure and properties of the major whey proteins such as -lactoglobulin and -lactalbumin. Secondly, the electrically pretreated proteins will be hydrolyzed and obtained peptide fractions will be characterized. Eventually, studies of biological and functional activities of obtained protein hydrolyzates will be carried out. The proposed research activities will allow exploring the fundamental aspects of the action of HVET on the structure and properties of complex molecules such as proteins and creating a new bridge between food chemistry and electrochemistry. The modification of protein structure by HVET could lead to the generation of new biologically and functionally active peptides during the enzymatic hydrolysis. In a long-term perspective, the modifications of different food molecules by HVET will allow to control their physico-chemical and biological properties and will provide opportunities to increase their value. Creation of high-added value products without significant environmental impacts will increase the eco-efficiency of food production lines.