Elucidation of Potential Function of Food Macromolecules


Elucidation of potential function of food macromolecules has captured wide interest and is expected to lead to the effective utilization of limited resources on earth.


Studies on the emulsifying properties and the antioxidative activity of elastin peptides.

Elastin has been found as a major protein component of elastic tissues such as the arterial wall, ligament and skin. Elastin is unique in that its amino acid composition is rich in such nonpolar amino acids (above 80%) as Gly, Ala, Val and Pro. Elastin also has specific cross-linkages of desmosine, isodesmosine, lysino-norleucine and merodesmosine. Consequently, elastin is highly insoluble in diluted acids, diluted alkalis, hot water and various denaturants, leading to difficulty for its structural analysis and utilization. Although some chemical solubilization processes have already been reported, the utilization of elastin has not progressed so far.
To develop a new method for utilizing elastin, we have been studying the nature of solubilized elastin peptides. We clarified that pepsin-solubilized elastin (PSE) had good affinity for oil and good emulsifying ability. PSE stabilized both the O/W type and W/O type emulsion. PSE was unique in that it was especially effective for stabilizing the W/O type emulsion.
Since PSE had strong affinity for oil and good emulsifying ability, we postulated that elastin peptides would have some protective effect such as antioxidative activity on the degradation of oil. Actually, we could confirm the antioxidative activity of elastin peptides on lipid oxidation. Isolation of the antioxidative peptide(s) from elastin peptides should be carried out, and the mechanism for the antioxidative activity of the peptide(s) needs to be elucidated.


REFERENCE

Hattori, M.; Yamaji-Tsukamoto, K.; Kumagai, H.; Feng, Y.; Takahashi, K. Antioxidative Activity of Soluble Elastin Peptides. J. Agric. Food Chem. 1998, 46, 2167-2170. [Abstract]

Hattori, M.; Takahashi, K. Pepsin-Solubilized Elastin as a W/O Emulsifier. Food Hydrocolloids 1993, 7, 327-335.[Abstract]


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