Ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic degradation of cholesterol in egg yolk

An ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic process was developed for effective degradation of cholesterol in natural egg yolk. The objective of this study was to follow the catalytic activity of cholesterol oxidase against egg yolk cholesterol in an effort to obtain a cholesterol reduced egg yolk without affecting the major nutrients composition of egg yolk. Cholesterol oxidase was used to catalyze the degradation of cholesterol in egg yolk. Firstly, a 30 g portion of the egg yolk was pretreated by ultrasonic for 15 min at 200 W and then incubated for 10 h with cholesterol oxidase concentration of 0.6 U/g egg yolk at 37 °C. Finally, the cholesterol level in egg yolk was reduced to 8.32% of its original concentration without affecting the quality attributes of the yolk.Industrial relevanceWith the increase of public awareness to the dangers of cholesterol in recent years, a large number of popular food products have drawn criticism for containing high levels of cholesterol. Many reduced cholesterol egg products have been developed for market requirement. The results indicate that the ultrasonic-assistant extraction is an effective method for effective degradation of cholesterol in natural egg yolk. The knowledge gained from this study should be useful for further exploitation and application of the resource. Cholesterol-reduced egg yolk promises to be a value-added functional food with all the health enhancing attributes associated with egg yolk.

► An ultrasonic-assisted enzymatic process was developed for effective degradation of cholesterol in natural egg yolk.
► The cholesterol level in egg yolk resulted in high degradation efficiency without affecting the quality attributes of the yolk.
► Advantages are high efficiency and no organic solvent consumption.