Study of the functional product’s protein compounds digestion features

The aim of the study was to investigate the transformation of meat product's proteins from pig hearts and aortas during enzymatic hydrolysis in an in vitro model of the gastrointestinal tract. The model consisted of three phases simulating digestion processes: “oral cavity” phase (a-amylase, pH 7.0; 2 min), “stomach” phase (pork pepsin, pH 3.0; 120 min), “intestine” phase (pork pancreatin, pH 7.0; 130 min). The product was sequentially subjected to hydrolysis, at the end of each phase, samples were taken to determine the protein concentration (biuret method) and visualize the protein fractions (one-dimensional electrophoresis). A significant increase in protein concentration at the “stomach” phase was revealed by 3.2 times, and the absolute content by 4.6 times. At the “intestine” phase, a decrease in the number of peptide complexes with copper ions by 1.8 times, the absolute protein content by 8.5% was re‑ vealed. The noted tendency was confirmed by electrophoretic studies — at the stage, simulating digestion in the stomach, the prod‑ ucts of meat product's proteins hydrolysis were visualized; at the “intestine” phase, a low expression of protein fractions in the range of more than 10 kDa is shown. The maximum hydrolysis of protein compounds at the “stomach” phase to poly- and oligopeptides was confirmed, continuing at the “intestine” stage with the accumulation of free amino acids. This methodology makes it possible to visualize the products of hydrolysis of proteins in a meat product at all stages of the model and to monitor changes in protein concentration in the system.