Optimization of enzymatically extracted rice protein in extrusion encapsulation

挤压加工传统上用于制备多样化的产品，如即食谷物、结构化零食、挤压植物蛋白（肉类模拟物）、增值食品，最近用于封装目的。一般来说，该技术是淀粉，或蛋白质或其组合。一般来说，大多数商业挤出工艺涉及高温蒸煮与连续高压剪切、压缩和减压应用，并且类似于复杂的反应室。 在封装挤出工艺中，该技术通常用于将活性组分嵌入结构形成基质内。本项目的目的是研究挤压操作参数，以实现塑化的酶法提取的大米蛋白质在低温挤压封装的高价值，敏感的生物分子。该研究合作伙伴是一家总部位于魁北克的成分封装公司，在将高价值和热敏生物分子封装在大米蛋白基质中时遇到了问题。虽然他们在碱提取大米蛋白方面取得了一些成功，但使用酶辅助提取工艺提取的更常用和侵入性更小的蛋白质却带来了困难。假设所采用的挤出加工条件未能使蛋白质变性，并且其他条件可能产生令人满意的结果。虽然他们有生产规模的挤出设备，但他们缺乏时间，专业知识和资源来探索这个概念。麦吉尔大学的申请人团队对挤压加工进行了广泛的研究，并拥有开展此类工作所需的基础设施。实验计划是使用响应面设计与操作变量，并进行优化，以获得正确的封装，其结果是有用的多样化的产品线，并在市场上具有竞争力。它还为人力培训铺平了道路，并为更好地了解这一过程提供了新的数据。

Extrusion processing has been traditionally used to prepare diversified products like instant cereals, structured snacks, extruded vegetable proteins (meat simulators), enhanced value food products and more recently for encapsulation purposes. Generally, the technology is either a starch, or protein or their combinations. In general, most commercial extrusion processes involve high temperature cooking with continuous high pressure shearing, compression and decompression application and resembles a complex reaction chamber. In encapsulation extrusion processes, the technique is generally used to embed an active component within a structure forming matrix. The objective of this project is to investigate extrusion operational parameters in order to achieve a plasticization of enzymatically extracted rice protein during low temperature extrusion encapsulation of high value, sensitive bio-molecules. The research partner, a Quebec based ingredient encapsulating company, is experiencing problems with encapsulating high value and heat sensitive bio-molecules in rice protein matrix. While they have found some success with alkali extracted rice protein, the more commonly used and less invasive protein extracted using enzyme aided extraction processes is posing difficulties. It is hypothesized that the extrusion processing conditions employed is failing to plasticize the proteins and other conditions might yield satisfactory results. While they have manufacturing scale extrusion equipment, they lack the time, expertise and resources to explore the concept. The applicant's team at McGill has carried out extensive studies on extrusion processing and has the necessary infrastructure to carryout such work. The experimental plan is to use a response surface design with operational variables and carryout optimization toward obtaining the right encapsulation.The results are expected to be useful for diversifying the product line and to be competitive in the market place. It also paves way for manpower training and generate new data for a better understanding of the process.