Innovative applications of high-intensity ultrasound in the development of functional food ingredients: Production of protein hydrolysates and bioactive peptides

• High intensity ultrasound (HIU) can modify functional properties of proteins.
• HIU contributes to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins.
• The potential of HIU for the production of bioactive peptides has been highlighted.
• HIU can modify the ACE-inhibitory and antioxidant activities of peptides obtained.

In recent years, the research on functional peptide generation for the development of functional foods has focused, among other issues, on the enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis by means of high-intensity ultrasound (HIU) application. It has been suggested that the use of HIU in pretreatment and during the hydrolysis process can modify protein conformation by affecting hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions, disrupting the quaternary and/or tertiary structure of proteins due to the effects of cavitation. Therefore, these structural modifications may expose more hydrolysis sites to be accessible by the enzyme, causing an increase in degree of hydrolysis and bioactivity. The main objective of this work was to review recent advances in food science and technology on the application of HIU for the enhancement of enzymatic hydrolysis of proteins of both animal and plant origin in order to generate novel protein hydrolysates and bioactive peptides which could be used as functional-food ingredients.