Simultaneous effect of vacuum and ultrasound assisted enzymatic extraction on the recovery of plant protein and bioactive compounds from sesame bran

Abstract The latest studies on the extraction of bio-components from plant materials have elaborated on novel approaches to increase yield. This study evaluated the effect of vacuum operation parameters on the recovery of protein and antioxidant compounds from sesame bran. In this context, vacuum-ultrasound assisted extraction (VU) and vacuum-ultrasound assisted enzymatic extraction (VUE) methods were carried out, and the vacuum parameters were investigated using central composite design by response surface methodology (RSM). The independent parameters were found effective on protein yield, total phenolic content and antioxidant capacity values. Optimum conditions for VU were 21 min vacuum time, 72 min restoration time and 539 mmHg vacuum pressure; and for VUE were 1.82 AU/100 g enzyme concentration, 8 min vacuum time, 68 min restoration time and 238 mmHg vacuum pressure. The protein yields increased by 31.0 and 41.6% with VU and VUE, respectively compared to standard alkaline extraction. SEM images revealed deteriorative effects of applied extraction methods. SDS-PAGE analysis was conducted to examine detailed protein fractionation and alcalase assisted extraction revealed small protein sub-units (