Sesame seed protein: Amino acid, functional, and physicochemical profiles

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an erect herbaceous annual plant with flat seeds. It is one of the oldest cultivated oilseed plants in the world, especially popular in Africa and Asia. The present research objective was to describe a sesame protein isolate, i.e., its amino acid profile, functional and physicochemical properties, zeta potential, and hydrodynamic diameter. The surface charge and hydrodynamic diameter in aqueous solutions were obtained for standard sesame seeds, defatted sesame seeds, and the sesame protein isolate. Defatted sesame seeds yielded the following optimal parameters: salt concentration – 0.6 M, pH – 7, iso-electric point (pI) – 4. The sesame protein isolate was rich in methionine content, which is rare in other plant proteins, but its lysine content was lower than in other isolates. The sesame protein isolate displayed almost identical zeta potential profiles with its pH. The decreasing pH increased the zeta values gradually from the lowest negative value to the highest positive value. The zeta potentials of standard and defatted sesame seeds at pH 7 were –23.53 and –17.30, respectively. The hydrodynamic diameter of the sesame protein isolate (0.33 μm) was smaller than that of sesame seeds (2.64 μm) and defatted sesame seeds (3.02 μm). The sesame protein isolate had a water holding capacity of 1.26 g/g and an oil holding capacity of 3.40 g/g. Its emulsifying properties looked as follows: emulsion capacity – 51.32%, emulsion stability – 49.50%, emulsion activity index – 12.86 m2/g, and emulsion stability index – 44.96 min, respectively. These values are suitable for the sesame protein isolate and are consistent with the literature. The sesame protein isolate was a good source of protein (88.98%). Using sesame proteins as functional components can be an important basis for better knowledge of the relationship between electrical charge interactions in food matrices and the structure, stability, shelf life, texture, structural and functional properties of food. Research prospects include the effects of sesame protein isolates on various food systems.