Ultrasound-based protein determination in maize seeds

• Ultrasound-assisted extraction and determination of proteins in cereal seeds were investigated.
• The amount of protein extracted is time and particle size dependent.
• The biuret-determined protein values are in excellent agreement with those obtained by the Micro-Kjeldahl method.

The need for a simple and accurate method for protein estimation in alcoholic extracts led to the reexamination of the optimum conditions of a colorimetric assay based on the biuret reaction. Sonication time and the other experimental parameters were optimized after kinetics study on the extraction of either zein or total proteins. Zein extraction and purity were investigated by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, SDS–PAGE electrophoresis, and UV–visible spectrophotometry (UV–vis). A zein assay was proposed, which involves the reaction of copper ions in copper phosphate powder with zein extracted in ethanolic solutions under strong alkaline environment. Furthermore, we extended this procedure to determine total proteins in maize samples simultaneously with their ultrasonic-assisted (US) extraction with an alkaline–alcoholic solution. Proteins in both types of extracts were well characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy. However, the 545 nm absorbance of the violet-colored supernatants which is proportional to the protein content was found to be the key parameter of the improved biuret-based protein assay. Comparison of values obtained by this procedure and by Micro-Kjeldahl method was in excellent agreement. A scaled-down procedure agreed well with the standard procedure. Enhanced accuracy and repeatability was found in protein determination in maize using the modified biuret method. The optimization of reagent concentrations and incubation times were studied as well.