Susam tohumu proteininin fiziksel ve kimyasal karakterizasyonu

Plant-based food proteins have become very popular and valuable due to increase trend of following a vegan diet and preferring to consume less meat in terms of sustainability reasons. The most popular plant based proteins are soya bean, quinoa, lentil, peanut and chia seed proteins. Sesame seed also has a potential to be an alternative protein source. However, it is a known fact that there is no extended study about sesame seed proteins in the literature although sesame seed contains significant amount of protein which cannot be disregarded. The aim of this study was to perform the characterization of sesame seed proteins obtained by using three different extraction techniques namely alkaline, salt (by NaCl) and enzyme assisted extraction. A comprehensive analysis was done to assess the physicochemical protperties of the extracted proteins. Total protein contenxt by Kjeldahl method, emulsification activity & emulsion stability by turbidimetric method, protein solubility by Lowry method, structural changes via Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, hydration behavior and gelling ability using Time Domain Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (TD-NMR) relaxometry through T2 relaxation time measurements were made for all extracted proteins. Also, SDS-PAGE applied to separate the protein subunits in sesame seed by checking their molecular weight. To determine the most efficient method for extraction of protein, yield was also calculated for all extracts. The results showed that extraction type had a significant effect on the yield and properties of the extracted proteins. Salt extracted samples and enzyme assisted alkaline extracted sample had the highest protein contents which were all over 90%, and 1M- NaCl extract had the highest yield among all other extracted protein samples. However, physicochemical properties of salt extracted samples such as solubility, gelling ability, emulsion stability and emulsification activity were found to be the lowest in general. Additionally, TD-NMR results showed that salt extracted samples had the weakest water binding capability with longer T2 relaxation times (more free water in the environment), confirmed by low solubility results obtained by Lowry method. In summary, depending on the physical property of interest, different extraction methods yielded different properties for the proteins.