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

高压电处理(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使用电力作为一种能源，这种能源可以来自可再生能源。据了解，加拿大57.6%的电力来自流水和落水产生的能量(水力发电)。在魁北克省，水电占95.3%，与其他省份和国家相比，该省在电力生产可持续性方面处于领先地位。因此，HVET可以成为对食品质量和环境产生负面影响的传统热处理的一种可持续替代方案。这项拟议的研究计划旨在研究不同的HVET(脉冲电场、电流机和电弧灯)对食品分子性质的影响。特别是，在接下来的几年里，我的研究计划将集中在开创性的研究上，旨在通过应用HVET来改善单个乳清蛋白的酶水解。第一步将研究HVET对主要乳清蛋白结构和性质的影响，如乳球蛋白和乳清蛋白。其次，对电预处理后的蛋白质进行水解，得到多肽组分，并对其进行表征。最后，将对所获得的蛋白水解物进行生物活性和功能活性的研究。拟议的研究活动将允许探索HVET对蛋白质等复杂分子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一座新的桥梁。HVET对蛋白质结构的改变可导致新的生物活性多肽和功能多肽的产生。从长远来看，通过HVET对不同食物分子的修饰将允许控制它们的物理化学和生物特性，并将提供增加其价值的机会。创造不会对环境造成重大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.