Oats are considered an exceptional source of high-quality protein. Protein isolation methods define their nutritional value and further applicability in food systems. The aim of this study was to recover the oat protein using a wet-fractioning method and investigate the protein functional properties and nutritional values among the processing streams. The oat protein was concentrated through enzymatic extraction, eliminating starch and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), treating oat flakes with hydrolases, and reaching protein concentrations of up to about 86% in dry matter. The increased ionic strength from adding sodium chloride (NaCl) improved protein aggregation and resulted in increased protein recovery. Ionic changes improved protein recovery in provided methods by up to 24.8 % by weight. Amino acid (AA) profiles were determined in the obtained samples, and protein quality was compared with the required pattern of indispensable amino acids. Furthermore, functional properties of the oat protein, such as solubility, foamability, and liquid holding capacity, were investigated. The solubility of the oat protein was below 7 %; foamability averaged below 8%. The water and oil-holding reached a ratio of up to 3.0 and 2.1 for water and oil, respectively. Our findings suggest that oat protein could be a potential ingredient for food industries requiring a protein of high purity and nutritional value.

This study was performed to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with β-glucan on the growth performance and skin-mucus microbiota of sea trout, Salmo trutta L. in Latvia. The investigations were performed during an eight-month period (September 2018 – April 2019). A total of 15,000 sea trout were divided into five groups. The experimental fish were fed formulated diets enriched with 1 g kg−1 β-glucan (D2), 3 g kg−1 β-glucan (D3), 6 g kg−1 biological product BGN-2 (BGN-2) (D4), and 14 g kg−1 BGN-2 (D5). The control diet (D1) was not supplemented. Our results showed that fish fed diets D4 and D5 achieved significantly (P < 0.05) higher growth parameters compared to those fed the other diets. Pseudomonas and Aeromonas were detected as the main component of fish skin and gill microbiota. Beta-glucan did not affect the skin-mucus microbiota of the sea trout. All isolates were resistant to amoxicillin, ampicillin, cefalexin, and erythromycin and susceptible to gentamicin. The multiple antibiotic resistance index for all isolates was higher than 0.2.

An oat protein concentrate (OC1) was isolated from oat flour through starch enzymatic hydrolysis, by subsequent defatting by ethanol and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) reaching protein concentrations of 78% and 77% by weight in dry matter, respectively. The protein characterisation and functional properties of the defatted oat protein concentrates were evaluated, compared and discussed. The solubility of defatted oat protein was minor in all ranges of measured pH (3–9), and foamability reached up to 27%. Further, an oat protein concentrate defatted by ethanol (ODE1) was extruded by a single screw extruder. The obtained extrudate was evaluated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), texture and colour analysers. The extrudate’s surface was well formed, smooth, and lacking a tendency to form a fibrillar structure. Textural analysis revealed a non-unform structure (fracturability 8.8–20.9 kg, hardness 26.3–44.1 kg) of the oat protein extrudate.