Effect of Storage Conditions on Carbon-Centered Radicals in Soy Protein Products

• Published in: Journal of agricultural and food chemistry Vol. 57; no. 17; pp. 7969 - 7973
• Main Authors: Boatright, William L, Lei, Qingxin, Shah Jahan, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 09.09.2009
• Subjects: air; Animal, plant, fungal and microbial proteins, edible seaweeds and food yeasts; Biological and medical sciences; Carbon; controlled atmosphere storage; dried foods; Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; Food Chemistry/Biochemistry; Food industries; Food Preservation - methods; food processing; food processing quality; food storage; Food, Preserved; free radicals; Free Radicals - analysis; freezing; Fruit and vegetable industries; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glycine max - chemistry; Hot Temperature; light; nitrogen; oxygen; protein concentrates; protein isolates; Seeds - chemistry; snack foods; Soy Milk - chemistry; soy protein; Soybean Proteins - chemistry; soymilk; storage conditions; storage quality; temperature; Soy protein; soy nuts; carbon-centered free radicals; inert atmosphere; electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy; Nuts; Soy product; Protein product; Carbon; Free radical; Inert atmosphere; Warehousing; Food preservation; Electron paramagnetic resonance
• ISSN: 0021-8561; 1520-5118
• DOI: 10.1021/jf900087v

Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the levels of carbon-centered radicals in retail samples of isolated soy protein (ISP), soy protein concentrate (SPC), and powdered soy milk were estimated to contain from 6.12 × 1014 to 1.98 × 1015 spins/g of soy product. Roasted soy nuts contained about 5.70 × 1015 spins/g. The peak to peak line width of the carbon-centered radicals from soy nuts was about 10 gauss, whereas ISP samples with a similar peak height had a peak to peak line width of about 8 gauss. Retail snack bars containing ISP, SPC, and/or roasted soy nuts with a total protein content of either 13, 21, or 29% contained 5.32 × 1014, 6.67 × 1014, and 5.74 × 1014 spins/g of snack bar, respectively. Levels of carbon-centered radicals in newly prepared samples of ISP were much lower than levels in the retail soy protein products and levels previously reported for commercial ISP and laboratory ISP samples. The levels of radicals in ISP samples increased over a 12−25 week period of storage in the dark at 22 °C and exposed to air from about 8.00 × 1013 spins/g immediately after preparation to 9.95 × 1014 spins/g of ISP. Storing the ISP samples under nitrogen at 22 °C greatly reduced the increase in radical content, whereas storing the ISP in 99.9% oxygen at 40 °C accelerated the formation of stable carbon-centered radicals. ISP samples hydrated at either 22 or 92 °C, rapidly frozen, and dried lost about 92% of the trapped radicals. The level of carbon-centered radicals in these same ISP samples immediately began to increase during subsequent storage exposed to the air and gradually returned to similar levels obtained before they were hydrated.