Protein hydrolysates from meriga (Cirrhinus mrigala) egg and evaluation of their functional properties

Protein hydrolysates from underutilised meriga (Cirrhinus mrigala) fish egg were prepared by using commercial Alcalase and papain enzymes. The degree of hydrolysis was 62% for Alcalase and 17.1% for papain, after 90 min digestion at 50–55 and 60–65 °C, respectively. The protein content of Alcalase-produced hydrolysate was higher (85%) than that of papain hydrolysate (70%) (p < 0.05). Hydrolysis by both enzymes increased protein solubility of fish egg protein hydrolysates to above 72.4% over a wide pH range (2–12). Results showed that the hydrolysates had good fat absorption capacity (0.9 and 1.0 g/g sample), foam capacity (70% and 25%) and emulsifying capacity (4.25 and 5.98 ml/g hydrolysate), respectively for Alcalase and papain protein hydrolysates. Gel filtration chromatograms and SDS–PAGE analysis indicated the distribution of smaller peptides. These results suggested that fish egg protein hydrolysates could be useful in the food industry.