This
study was carried out to investigate the physicochemical,
functional, electrophoretic, structural, thermal, and rheological
properties of protein isolates obtained from germinated chickpeas
at different germination times (0, 12, 36, and 48 h). An increase
in germination time changed lightness (58.57 to 61.44), whiteness
index (1.25 to 15.29), protein isolate recovery (19.84 to 21.34%),
protein content (85.08 to 87.78%), antioxidant activity (25.83 to
31.58%), in vitro protein digestibility (86.35 to 93.76%), and degree
of hydrolysis (0 to 1.89%) of protein isolates extracted from chickpea
seeds. Significant increases (p < 0.05) in water
absorption capacity (3.08 to 4.82 g/g), oil absorption capacity (4.45
to 5.58 g/g), emulsifying capacity (43.47 to 45.61 m2/g),
foaming capacity (58.74 to 69.48%), and foaming stability (60.37 to
64.86%) were observed for the protein isolates with an increase in
germination time (0 to 48 h). Storage and loss modulus decreased with
an increase in germination time (0 to 48 h) of protein isolates that
behave like weak gel materials (G′ > G″). Power law, Herschel–Bulkley, Bingham,
and Casson models showed the best fit to rheological data, with R
2 being greater than 0.93. Protein isolates
showed a significant decrease in onset temperature (91.86 to 80.45
°C), peak temperature (107.20 to 95.41 °C), and enthalpy
(3.65 to 2.48 J/g) with an increase in germination time. The electrophoretic
study showed a slight variation in band intensities corresponding
to proteins with low and high molecular weight. An increase in the
secondary structure of amide I showed a reduction of α-helices
(21.52 to 19.87%) and β-sheets (57.45 to 53.52%) and an increase
in β-turns (18.17 to 19.64%) and random coils (3.30 to 6.97%)
in chickpea protein isolates after 48 h of germination.