Microwave improvement of soy protein isolate–saccharide graft reactions

Soy protein isolate (SPI) was mixed with lactose, maltose, dextran or soluble starch (SS) and heated (temperature ⩽90 °C) by microwave irradiation. Compared to the classical heating, the microwave heating (MH) speeded up the graft reactions of SPI with sugars. From the results calculated, the rate constants of free amino groups in the grafts of SPI with lactose, maltose, dextran and SS by MH were, respectively, 6, 7, 57 and 12.3 times of those by classical heating. After heating by microwave, the lysine and arginine decreased and from, the FTIR spectroscopy of SPI and its grafts by MH, the absorbance of –C–O stretching and –OH deformation vibrations (1050–1150 cm−1) and free –OH form (3643–3630 cm−1) in SPI grafts increased compared to SPI. The temporal development of the graft reactions of SPI with sugars by MH was also shown by SDS–PAGE.