Succinylation of food proteins- a concise review

Abstract With increasing protein needs for the burgeoning population, newer sources of proteins are attracting the attention of scientists globally. Despite having adequate nutritional appeal, many proteins are also lost in waste streams due to their poor functional properties. Besides the nutritional aspect, proteins have been used for controlled release of bioactives, and extending the shelf-life of fresh produce due to their ability to form edible films and coatings. However, the lack of functional properties such as emulsifying, foaming, and gelation in most of these proteins makes their incorporation in food matrices difficult. Among the various approaches to overcome these limitations, succinylation of proteins using succinic anhydride, octenyl succinic anhydride and dodecenyl succinic anhydride is a simple and efficient technique for meeting the functional requirements of the existing and novel sources of protein. This review summarizes the potential of succinylation to improve the properties of a wide range of food proteins for applications in food systems. The review also critically examines the emerging technologies for the processing of proteins, as well as the effect of succinylation on the structural changes and physicochemical properties of the proteins, and the bottlenecks in adopting succinylation of proteins commercially.