Soy proteins known for their high nutritional value and pronounced
techno-functional properties, can be hydrolyzed by using proteolytic enzymes
and thus converted into hydrolysates rich in di-, tri- and oligopeptides.
The resulting peptides are carriers of valuable biological activities, which
make the soy hydrolysates very important in functional food applications as
techno-functional and bioactive ingredients. However, commercial
incorporation and application of soy protein hydrolysates can be hinderedby
their low bioavailability and instability, bitter taste, hygroscopicity and
possibility to interact with the food matrix. The aim of this research is
encapsulation of the soy protein hydrolysate in liposomes in order to
overcome the stated shortcomings, while preserving the biological activities
that protein hydrolysates exhibit. The soy hydrolysate was prepared by a
two-step enzymatic hydrolysis of a soy protein concentrate using commercial
food-grade proteases, endoprotease from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens
(Neutrase?) and egzo- and endoprotease from Aspergillus oryzae
(Flavourzyme?) and encapsulated within liposomes. The liposomes were
produced by a thin film method using a commercial lipid mixture
(Phospolipon? 90G) containing mainly phosphatidylcholine. Next, the obtained
multilamellar vesicles (MLV) with the soy protein hydrolysate were treated
by high-intensity ultrasound waves generated by using (1) an ultrasonic
probe at a frequency of 20 kHz and (2) an ultrasonic bath with a frequency
40 kHz. The smallest (310 nm) and uniform (unimodal size distribution)
liposomes with the highest efficiency of peptide encapsulation (19 %) were
obtained by the probe sonication. The presented results showed that
incorporation of the soy protein hydrolysates was achieved within the
liposome membrane and caused an increase in the liposome size in all tested
formulations, namely: from 297 to 310 nm by using the ultrasonic probe, from
722 to 850 nm by using the ultrasonic bath, while in formulations without
the ultrasonic treatments the increase from 2818 to 3464 nm was recorded.
The entrapped peptides caused enlargement of all liposomes and the increase
in negative charge of zeta potential values, which in the case of MLV
liposomes was below -30 mV, indicating high stability of these liposomes.
Significant antioxidant activity of the probe-sonicated liposomal
formulation was confirmed by the ABTS scavenging ability and iron-chelating
activity. Release studies conducted under simulated gastrointestinal
conditions confirmed that liposomes provide prolonged release of
encapsulated soy protein hydrolysates as compared to diffusion of the free
hydrolysate. In the first 75 min, only 20 % of liposome encapsulated soy
peptides diffused, which is 2.2-fold lower as compared to the diffusion of
the non-encapsulated soy hydrolysate. Liposome encapsulated soy protein
hydrolysates may provide the possibility for application in the areas such
as food science and technology, with the aim to enhance the nutritional
value and shelf life of food products, and develop functional foods.