Subcritical Water Hydrolysis of Comb Pen Shell (Atrina pectinata) Edible Parts to Produce High-Value Amino Acid Products.

Artina pectinata (Comb pen shell, CPS) is a high-protein source that contains a variety of essential amino acids. Subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) was used to recover amino acids from the posterior adductor muscle (PAM), anterior adductor muscle (ADM), and mantle. The temperatures ranged from 120 °C to 200 °C, and the pressure and time of hydrolysis were 3 MPa and 30 min, respectively. Further characterization of the hydrolysates was performed to ascertain amino acid profiles and biofunctional properties. The hydrolysates contained more free amino acids than the untreated samples. Antioxidant activity of treated samples increased as SW temperatures increased. At 200 °C, those inhibiting ACE had a maximum antihypertensive activity of 200 °C in 1% PAM, ADM, and mantle with 85.85 ± 0.67, 84.55 ± 0.18, and 82.15 ± 0.85%, respectively, compared to 97.57 ± 0.67% in 1% standard captopril. Perhaps the most significant finding was the predominance of taurine in the three parts following SW treatment at 120 °C. The hydrolysates may be of considerable interest for use in food or energy drinks. SWH demonstrates efficacy in recovering amino acids, particularly taurine, from edible parts of A. pectinata.

Optimization and kinetics modeling of okara isoflavones extraction using subcritical water.

In this study, the soybean milk and tofu byproduct okara was subjected to subcritical water extraction with the intention of recovering isoflavones with minimal degradation. Response Surface Methodology (RSM) of the extraction variables indicated that optimized conditions would be T = 146.23 °C, P = 3.98 MPa, and α = 20 mg (solid)/mL (extractant). Mathematical models for the conversion and degradation of isoflavones were solved as a set of simultaneous equations leading to rate constants and time-dependent concentration profiles for each genistein- and daidzein-based compound. These kinetic analyses suggested that an optimum extraction time, under RSM-optimized conditions, would be 213.5 ±â€¯8.7 min. The results of our study suggest that okara byproducts could be valorized efficiently, as a source of bioactive isoflavone aglycones, using subcritical water. The mathematical models and optimized extraction conditions that we established in this study could be employed, as process control-optimized variables, in the exploitation of okara, specifically in the isolation of genistein and daidzein.