Egg white contains many functionally important proteins. Ovalbumin (54%), ovotransferrin (12%), ovomucoid (11%), ovomucin (3.5%), and lysozyme (3.5%) are among the major proteins that have high potentials for industrial applications if separated. The separation methods for these proteins from egg white have been developed since early 1900, but preparation methods of these proteins for commercial applications are still under development. Simplicity and scalability of the methods, use of nontoxic chemicals for the separation, and sequential separation for multiple proteins are very important criteria for the commercial production and application of these proteins. The separated proteins can be used in food and pharmaceutical industry as is or after modifications with enzymes. Ovotransferrin is used as a metal transporter, antimicrobial, or anticancer agent, whereas lysozyme is mainly used as a food preservative. Ovalbumin is widely used as a nutrient supplement and ovomucin as a tumor suppression agent. Ovomucoid is the major egg allergen but can inhibit the growth of tumors, and thus can be used as an anticancer agent. Hydrolyzed peptides from these proteins showed very good angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory, anticancer, metal binding, and antioxidant activities. Therefore, separation of egg white proteins and the productions of bioactive peptides from egg white proteins are emerging areas with many new applications.

Lipid oxidation is the most crucial quality parameter in foods. Many methods were developed to determine the level of oxidation and antioxidant activity. This review compares the methods used to determine lipid oxidation and antioxidant capacity in foods. Lipid oxidation methods developed are based on the direct or indirect measurement of produced primary or secondary oxidation substances. Peroxide values and conjugated diene methods determine the primary oxidative products of lipid oxidation and are commonly used for plant oils and high-fat products. 2-Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances and chromatographic methods are used to determine the secondary products of oxidation and are suitable for meat and meat-based products. The fluorometric and sensory analyses are indirect methods. The antioxidant capacity of additives is determined indirectly using the lipid oxidation methods mentioned above or directly based on the free-radical scavenging activity of the antioxidant compounds. Each lipid oxidation and antioxidant capacity methods use different approaches, and one method cannot be used for all foods. Therefore, selecting proper methods for specific foods is essential for accurately evaluating lipid oxidation or antioxidant capacity.

Egg white contains many functionally important proteins: ovalbumin (54%), ovotransferrin (12%), ovomucoid (11%), ovoglobulin (G2 and G3, 8%), ovomucin (3.5%), and lysozyme (3.5%) are major proteins, while ovoinhibitors, ovomacroglobulin, ovoglycoprotein, ovoflavoprotein, thiamine-binding proteins, and avidin are minor proteins present in egg white. These proteins, as well as the peptides derived from the proteins, have been recognized for their functional importance as antioxidant, antimicrobial, metal-chelating, anti-viral, anti-tumour, and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)-inhibitory activities. Among the functional properties of the peptides, antioxidant and antimicrobial activities are important characteristics for food processing while other properties such as ACE-inhibitory activity of the peptides can have important health-related functionalities. Bioactive peptides can be produced from egg white proteins by enzyme hydrolysis, chemical treatments, or thermal treatments at different pH conditions. The effective functional peptides produced from egg white proteins are usually smaller than 2 kDa in molecular size. However, these peptides are known for their beneficial activities in vitro only, and little work has been done to prove their beneficial effects in vivo. Therefore, further studies are needed to see if the bioactive peptides derived from egg white proteins are helpful for humans in the future.

Ovalbumin is the predominant protein in egg white and is widely used in cell culture. However, it also can be used to produce peptides with various functional properties. The objectives of this study were to hydrolyze ovalbumin using various enzyme, incubation time, and temperature combinations, and to compare the functional properties of the hydrolysates. Ovalbumin (20 mg/mL) was hydrolyzed with 1% of pepsin, trypsin, α-chymotrypsin, papain, and alcalase, singly or in combination at 37°C, and then the enzymes were inactivated at 100°C for 15 min. Hydrolyzing ovalbumin with pepsin (OAPe), pepsin + papain (OAPePa), pepsin + alcalase (OAPeAl), alcalase + trypsin (OAAlTr), and α-chymotrypsin (OACh) was also effective in producing peptides from ovalbumin, and the peptides produced had strong iron- and copper-binding capacities and antioxidant capability. However, the best treatment of all was the OAAlTr treatment, which showed the highest iron-chelating and antioxidant activities among the enzyme treatments (P < 0.05). Electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis identified numerous peptides (<5 kDa) from the OAPe, OAPeAl, OACh, OAAlTr, and OAPePa hydrolysates of ovalbumin, but the number and size of peptides varied widely depending on the treatments. The enzymatic hydrolysis significantly increased the functionality of ovalbumin, and the improvement depended upon the composition of peptides produced rather than the number of the peptides produced.