Introduction. The study offers a new rational approach to processing cottage cheese whey and using it as a highly nutritional functional ingredient in food production. We proposed a scientifically viable method for hydrolyzing cottage cheese whey with enzyme preparations of acid proteases from Aspergillus oryzae with an activity of 400 units/g and a pH range of 3.0 to 5.0. Study objects and methods. Pre-concentrated whey was enzymatically hydrolyzed at 30°C, 40°C, and 50°C for 60 to 180 min (pH 4.6). Non-hydrolyzed whey protein concentrates were used as a control. The amount of enzyme preparation was determined by calculation. All hydrolysate samples showed an increase in active acidity compared to the control samples. Further, we conducted a full-factor experiment with three levels of variation. The input parameters included temperature, duration of hydrolysis, and a substrate-enzyme ratio; the output parameters were the degree of hydrolysis and antioxidant capacity. Results and discussion. The experiment showed the following optimal parameters for hydrolyzing cottage cheese whey proteins with the enzyme preparation of proteases produced by Aspergillus oryzae: temperature – 46.4°C; duration – 180 min; and the amount of enzyme preparation – 9.5% of the protein content. The antioxidant capacity was 7.51 TE mmol/L and the degree of hydrolysis was 17.96%. Conclusion. Due to its proven antioxidant capacity, the whey protein hydrolysate obtained in the study can be used as a functional food ingredient.

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