Recently, commercial hemp seeds, Cannabis sativa L., have attracted considerable interest in nutritional and industrial research due to their high nutritional value and good digestibility. Hemp seeds are becoming a new source of vegetable protein and the necessary components for maintaining health due to the rich content of protein compounds, vitamins, and unsaturated fatty acids. The effect of processing on the protein complex of low THC hemp seeds was studied in the current study. Standard methods of analysis (determination of protein, fat, moisture) and special methods (determination of the ratio of protein fractions of hemp seeds and products of their processing) were applied in the work. The objects of study were hemp seeds (Surskaya variety) and products of their de-oiling by mechanical and chemical methods. The globulin fraction predominance in the original hemp seeds (69.44%) and in the product obtained by hemp seeds de-oiling with hexane (fine fraction of meal, 80.94%) was revealed. Glutelin fraction (38.98%) prevailed in hemp seed flour obtained by cold pressing. After the hemp seeds processing (pressing, extraction), the ratio of protein fractions (albumin, globulin and glutelin) in the resulting products changed: meal (1:3.2:3.2), fine fraction (0.1:4.7:1) and flour (1.1:1:1.4), in comparison with the initial raw material (1:2.5:0.1). A significant increase in the glutelin fraction: from 2.78 to 43.10 and 38.98%, by mechanical and chemical methods, respectively, and a decrease in the amount of water- and salt-soluble fractions were observed with all processing methods. Researches of the study of the ratio of oilseeds protein fractions are of practical importance for improving healthy foods quality.
At present, hemp seeds are becoming increasingly popular as a source of nutrients. This work addressed the dynamics of macronutrients in the process of short-term germination of hempseeds by chemical and spectroscopic methods. Lyudmila 2021 cultivated hemp seeds along with hemp sprouts were used as objects of research. The germination of hemp seeds was carried out under laboratory conditions using special trays at 18–20 °C with the water added at a ratio of 2:1 for 5 days with periodic moistening. The obtained experimental data on the protein complex suggested that, in the studied interval of the germination of hemp seeds, the key hydrolytic decomposition of proteins occurs along with changes in structural components, including through the synthesis of new proteins accompanying the sprouting. The variations in such parameters as fat content, acid number and peak intensity of functional groups in the lipid fingerprint region (1745, 1157 and 1140 cm-1) indicated the accumulation of fatty acids as a result of the hydrolysis of triglycerides. The analysis of the IR spectra of hemp sprouts and the intensity of the bands of the corresponding functional groups in the carbohydrate region (1200–680 cm-1) suggested the intensive hydrolytic decomposition of polysaccharides. The variation in the content of extractive matter in the aqueous solutions of hemp sprouts indicated the accumulation and utilisation of water-soluble substances at the early stages of germination. The data on the predominance of water- and salt-soluble protein fractions indicated an increase in the biological value of hemp seeds during short-term germination.