Amino acid composition, molecular weight distribution and antioxidant activity of protein hydrolysates of soy sauce lees

The proteins of soy sauce lees (SSLP) were hydrolysed by Alcalase in the presence of ultrasound or traditional water bath to obtain hydrolysates S2–S6. The analysis of protein content indicated that enzymatic hydrolysis could significantly improve the extraction efficiency of proteins. By determination of molecular weight distribution, >10 and 5–10 KDa fractions of native SSLP (S1) decreased during hydrolysis, whilst 3–5 KDa fraction increased. Gradual increases of free, total and antioxidant amino acids were observed for S1–S4, and the differences between S4 and S6 were slight. Tyrosine was the major free amino acid of S1–S6, whilst glutamic acid had the highest amount in total amino acid composition. S2–S6 showed stronger DPPH radical scavenging activities in a dose-dependent manner than S1. All the results suggested that ultrasound treatment showed an inhibition behaviour on the enzymatic hydrolysis of SSLP.