WO2019111043A1

WO2019111043A1 - Protein compositions of vegetable-origin and method for obtaining the same

Info

Publication number: WO2019111043A1
Application number: PCT/IB2017/057758
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sergio Román Othón SERNA SALDIVAR; Pascual BARBA AVILA; Juan Raúl SÁNCHEZ COLUNGA
Original assignee: Industrias Nutrigrains, S.A.P.I. De C.V.
Priority date: 2017-12-08
Filing date: 2017-12-08
Publication date: 2019-06-13

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for obtaining a vegetable-origin protein composition with modified functional or nutritional properties for use in food products that comprises a water suspension step of ground vegetable material to obtain an aqueous suspension; and an extraction step to obtain a vegetable-origin protein composition from the aqueous suspension, wherein the method further comprises at least one of the following: a) at least two ground vegetable materials from different vegetable protein sources in the aqueous suspension with a maximum particle size of 0.420mm; and b) applying a magnetic field of predetermined frequency to the aqueous suspension during the extraction step. Another aspect of the present invention is a vegetable-origin protein composition with at least one functional or nutritional property modified in at least +/-8% with respect to the same functional or nutritional property of a composition consisting of a blend of vegetable-origin proteins isolated from their corresponding single vegetable protein source, wherein the modified functional or nutritional property is selected from water absorption, foaming capacity, heat-coagulation, emulsifying ability, flavor and odor.

Description

PROTEIN COMPOSITIONS OF VEGETABLE-ORIGIN AND METHOD FOR OBTAINING THE SAME

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is related to protein concentrates and isolates with modified functional properties and techniques employed in the production of the same, and more particularly it is related to a protein composition of vegetable-origin for use in food products and a method for obtaining the same.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years, protein compositions of vegetable-origin for use in food products have increasingly been developed and accepted by consumers as a replacement for proteins of animal origin.

However, nutritional quality of protein compositions of vegetable-origin is usually low as their amino acid composition, and capability to supply essential amino acids in the required amounts are not adequate.

Besides, vegetable proteins do not naturally possess the functional properties which are necessary to function as a replacement of high-protein animal-derived ingredients in food products, such as for instance, as a dairy product component or an egg substitute. Still, vegetable proteins are a highly desirable food product component, provided that economical and effective means for producing them with proper functional properties are found.

In view of the above, there is a need to develop protein compositions that provide essential amino acids for human consumption and have appropriate functional properties to be used in food products for human or animal consumption.

Accordingly, in the prior art there have been attempts to isolate vegetable proteins from different single sources that are then modified and/or blended in order to achieve the desired nutritional and functional properties in order to obtain protein blends. These protein blends are typically prepared from purified dried vegetable protein isolates from a single source. Currently, such protein blends are sensitive to a wide variety of conventional food processing and recipe conditions, and even relatively mild physical processing conditions such as heating, drying, or moisture level, are known to adversely affect its properties. Furthermore, their functional properties for use in food products such as emulsifying or foaming capacity are poor. From the process perspective, there have been attempts to formulate these blends starting from purified vegetable protein isolates, which require extraction and purification processes that are particular to each vegetable used as a source for such proteins, which increases the costs of the produced protein blends.

As an alternative, in patent US9481737 a hybrid vegetable protein formed from at least one guest protein, having the structure of prolamine and glutelin, and at least one host protein, having the structure of globulin and albumin, and a method for producing the same are described. According to this document the nutritional value of said hybrid vegetable protein is high, but its functional properties could not be optimal. Consequently, the hybrid vegetable protein is a good nutritional protein source but it is not necessarily a functional component to be incorporated to food products successfully. Additionally, document W02007039253 describes a hydrolyzed vegetable protein and a composition comprising said hydrolyzed vegetable protein, obtainable by the hydrolysis of a mixture comprising sunflower protein and at least one other vegetable protein, such mixture can be composed of vegetable seeds. However, this document does not provide a method to obtain a vegetable protein composition with modified functional and nutritional properties, depending on the final use given and requires necessarily the use of sunflower protein as a source in order to achieve the desired result.

On the other hand, document US2013059928 provides a method for preparing alkaline hydrolysates of plant proteins starting from a mix of pea, potato and corn extracted proteins. However, such method neither starts from raw vegetable source nor provides means to obtain a vegetable protein composition with modified functional and nutritional properties. As explained above, in addition to the functional limitations, the proteins of the different sources, namely pea, potato and corn, need to be extracted before they are subject to the hydrolysis described in this document, which makes it expensive and complex because it requires three prior processing steps for extraction of the proteins of each source.

As observed in the prior art, there is still a need of protein compositions of vegetable- origin that are useful as food additives with functional properties suitable for different food products with such properties designed at will in spite of the limitations of the vegetable source used when their proteins are extracted individually.

Considering the drawbacks of the procedures found in the prior art for the production of protein compositions of vegetable-origin, as described above, there have been sought ways to overcome said drawbacks by developing a method which allows the large-scale production of high nutritional value proteins of vegetable-origin with adequate functional properties for food processing using accessible vegetable protein source.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Considering the drawbacks of the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for obtaining a vegetable-origin protein composition with modified functional properties suitable for use in food products.

Other object of the present invention is to provide a method that allows to obtain modified functional properties of a vegetable-origin protein composition for use in food products by controlling steps and variables according such modified functional properties.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a vegetable-origin protein composition from at least two different sources of vegetable-origin proteins as raw source that does not require independent isolation of the proteins from each source.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a vegetable-origin protein composition with modified functional or nutritional properties, such as water absorption, foaming capacity, emulsifying ability, color, taste, mouth-feel, flavor and odor for its use in food products.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION. The present invention relates to a method for obtaining a vegetable-origin protein composition with modified functional or nutritional properties for use in food products that comprises a water suspension step of ground vegetable material to obtain an aqueous suspension; and an extraction step to obtain a vegetable-origin protein composition from the aqueous suspension, wherein the method further comprises at least one of the following:

a) at least two ground vegetable materials from different vegetable protein sources in the aqueous suspension with a maximum particle size of 0.420mm; and

b) applying a magnetic field of predetermined frequency to the aqueous suspension during the extraction step.

The method of the present invention is designed to allow the processing of any number of sources of vegetable-origin proteins without the need of single extraction processes for each source, and to obtain vegetable-origin protein compositions with modified functional or nutritional properties. For the purposes of this description "modified'Tunctional or nutritional properties meansthat such properties of the compositions are different from those obtained in compositions produced by mixtures of vegetable origin proteins separately isolated from a single source, wherein the vegetable protein sources of the compositions of the invention and of the isolated proteins are the same.

Another aspect of the present invention is a vegetable-origin protein composition with at least one functional or nutritional property modified in at least +/- 8% with respect to the same functional or nutritional property of a composition consisting of a blend of vegetable-origin proteins isolated from their correspondingsingle vegetable protein source, wherein the modified functional or nutritional property is selected from water absorption, foaming capacity, heat-coagulation, emulsifying ability, flavor and odor.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A first aspect of the present invention relates to a method for obtaining a vegetable- origin protein composition with modified functional or nutritional properties for use in food products that comprises a water suspension step of ground vegetable material to obtain an aqueous suspension; and an extraction step to obtain a vegetable-origin protein composition from the aqueous suspension, wherein the method further comprises at least one of the following:

The method of the present invention is designed to allow the processing of any number of sources of vegetable-origin proteins without the need of single extraction processes for each source, and to obtain vegetable-origin protein compositions with modified functional or nutritional properties different from those obtained in mixtures of vegetable origin proteins separately isolated from a single source. For the purposes of this description "modified" functional or nutritional properties meansthat such properties of the compositions are different from those obtained in compositions produced by mixtures of vegetable origin proteins separately isolated from a single source, wherein the vegetable protein sources of the compositions of the invention and of the isolated proteins are the same.

It has been found that, when different sources of vegetable protein (vegetable protein sources)are subject to any extraction step together, it is possible to obtain vegetable-origin protein compositions with modified functional properties for use in food products. In an embodiment of the present invention, the functional properties might be water and fat absorption capacities, solubility, foaming capacity, emulsifying ability, flavor and odor and the nutritional properties might be amino acid profile.

According to the above, the vegetable protein source is selected from any raw vegetal grains, pulses, cereals or the like, preferably, from corn also known as maize, soybean, pea, yellow pea, chickpea, bean, canola, rice, wheat, sorghum, rye, quinoa, or amaranth. In a preferred embodiment, the vegetable protein sources are selected from at least two vegetable protein raw sources. Preferably, the vegetable protein source is selected from regular or non-allergenic sources in order to obtain a corresponding non-allergenic vegetable-origin protein composition. In a preferred embodiment, the sources are a mixture of corn, soybean, yellow pea and chickpea, and in an embodiment for obtaining a non-allergenic vegetable-origin protein composition the preferred sources are at least pea and chickpea and any other non-allergenic source.

In a particular embodiment of the method of the present invention, the ground vegetable material is achieved by grinding at least one vegetable protein source until obtaining a maximum particle size of 0.420mm, which is reached by using a -40 U.S. Mesh sieve to +200 U.S. Mesh sieve after the vegetable protein source is ground by any dry-grinding means known for those skilled in the art, preferably milling equipment and more preferably a pin type mill or a hammer type mill. It is particularly noted that this step is performed preferably in dry conditions in order to be able to obtain the desired functional properties in the end product. Once the mixture is sieved it is obtained the ground vegetable material comprising the ground vegetable protein source. However, other grinding methods may be used and those skilled in the art will be able to achieve the results of the invention by reaching the desired particle size through any known grinding means.

With regard to the aqueous suspension, this is obtained by adding water to the ground vegetable material, in a preferred embodiment of the invention the aqueous suspension is formed preferably at a temperature between of 10°C and 70°C, and more preferably of 45 °C and 55 °C. In another embodiment of the invention, more preferably the aqueous suspension pH should be maintained between 7 and 9. In yet another preferred embodiment of this step, the ratio of the ground vegetable material to water in the aqueous suspension preferably is between 1 :4 and 1 : 15.

In connection with extracting the vegetable-origin proteins from the aqueous suspension to obtain a vegetable-origin protein composition, the extraction step can be performed by any means known in the prior art for those skilled in the art that are typically used for single sourced vegetable proteins, including but not limiting to water based extraction, TCA-acetone extraction, phenol/methanol extraction, alkaline extraction, and multi-detergent extraction, wherein the vegetable-origin protein composition comprises proteins from any vegetable protein raw sources, according to the modified functional or nutritional properties to be obtained. In an embodiment of the present invention, the vegetable-origin proteins are extracted through a water-based or alkaline extraction procedure.

One of the advantages of the present invention is the ability to obtain modified functional and nutritional properties, for example, a higher solubility, heat-coagulation, emulsion ability and foaming capacity, and lower water and fat absorption capacities, depending on the vegetable protein raw source mixed and their ratio.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field through which a flow of the aqueous suspension of ground vegetable material is passed has a range value of preferably 3000 to 4200 Gauss and a frequency of lOhertz to 70 hertz. More preferably, the frequency is of 60 hertz.

It is important to consider that the application of a magnetic field promotes different protein-protein associations that last even after the application of the magnetic field is over. In this way, the appliance of a magnetic field changes the functional properties of the vegetable-origin proteins for use in food products depending on the single or multiple vegetable protein source used.

It has been found for example that, when a magnetic field is applied to an extraction procedure, the water solubility increases and the emulsifying capacity increases.

Another aspect of the present invention is a vegetable-origin protein composition with at least one functional or nutritional property modified in at least +/- 8% with respect to the same functional or nutritional property of a composition consisting of a blend of the same vegetable-origin proteins isolated from the corresponding single vegetable protein source, wherein the modified functional or nutritional property is selected from water absorption, foaming capacity, heat-coagulation, emulsifying ability, flavor and odor.

The vegetable protein source is selected from any raw vegetal grains, pulses, cereals or the like, preferably, from corn also known as maize, soybean, pea, yellow pea, chickpea, bean, canola, rice, wheat, sorghum, rye, quinoa, or amaranth. In a preferred embodiment, the vegetable protein sources are selected from at least two vegetable protein sources. Preferably, the vegetable protein source is selected from regular or non-allergenic sources in order to obtain a corresponding non- allergenic vegetable-origin protein composition. In a preferred embodiment, the sources are a mixture of corn, soybean, yellow pea and chickpea, and in an embodiment for obtaining a non-allergenic vegetable- origin protein composition the preferred sources are at least pea and chickpea and any other non- allergenic source.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the functional or nutritional property is water solubility, in which case the water solubility of the vegetable-origin protein composition is preferably between 8% and 80%. As an illustration of the flexibility of the process of the present invention it has been found under the principles of this invention that where the protein vegetable sources are soybean and maize, the water solubility is of 71.15%, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean, maize and chickpea, the water solubility is of 69.22%, when the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea, the water solubility is of 74.11%, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ, the water solubility is of 8.9%, and when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ with the application of a magnetic field the water solubility is of 12.6%. In another embodiment of the present invention, the functional or nutritional property is foaming capacity, in which case the foaming capacity of the vegetable-origin protein composition is preferably between 4% and 75%. As an illustration of the flexibility of the process of the present invention it has been found under the principles of this invention that when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and maize, the foaming capacity is of 70%, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean, maize and chickpea, the foaming capacity is of 18%, when the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea, the foaming capacity is of 40%, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ, the foaming capacity is of 4.5%, and when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ with the application of a magnetic field the foaming capacity is of 18.4%.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the functional or nutritional property is water absorption, in which case the water absorption of the vegetable-origin protein composition is preferably between 1 and 4. As an illustration of the flexibility of the process of the present invention it has been found under the principles of this invention that when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and maize, the water absorption is of 2.01, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean, maize and chickpea, the water absorption is of 3.11, and when the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea, the water absorption is of 2.56.

In another embodiment of the present invention, the functional or nutritional property is preferably fat absorption, in which case the fat absorption of the vegetable-origin protein composition is between 150% and 200%. As an illustration of the flexibility of the process of the present invention it has been found under the principles of this invention thatwhen the protein vegetable sources are soybean and maize, the fat absorption is of 185.64%, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean, maize and chickpea, the fat absorption is of 179.20%, and when the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea, the fat absorption is of 158.36%.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the functional or nutritional property is heat- coagulation, in which case the heat-coagulation of the vegetable-origin protein composition is preferably between 6.0% and 7%. As an illustration of the flexibility of the process of the present invention it has been found under the principles of this invention thatwhen the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ, the heat-coagulation is of 6.0% and when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ and a magnetic field is applied during the extraction procedure, the heat-coagulation is of 6.5%.

According to the described embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there uncountable alternatives and combinations of protein vegetable sources that may be used under the principles of the present invention which properties may be modified by combining them in the extraction step or by applying the magnetic field as described herein. Therefore, the present invention should not be limited by the sources that are used or the properties that are modified, as it is apparent that the contribution of the invention to the prior art is the ability to obtain modified properties in vegetable origin protein compositions.

The present invention will be better understood from the following examples, which are shown for illustrative purposes only to allow proper understanding of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, without implying that there are no other embodiments non-illustrated which may be practiced based on the above disclosed detailed description.

Example 1

This example shows a prior art method for obtaining a vegetable-origin protein composition from a single vegetable-origin protein source and the grams of protein extracted.

The method consists of the following steps:

1. Grinding the vegetable protein source using a pin type mill.

2. Adding water at 50 °C at a 10:1 ratio to form an aqueous suspension of ground vegetable source.

3. Extractinga vegetable-origin protein composition of the aqueous suspension of ground vegetable source of a single vegetable protein source with the following method:

a. Adjusting the pH to 9.0 with sodium hydroxide.

b. Separating the fiber by centrifugation at 3500 RPM for 5 minutes.

c. Precipitating the centrifuged extract with acid to achieve a pH of 4.5-4.7 d. Separating the vegetable-origin protein composition by centrifugation at 3500 RPM for 5 minutes.

e. Washing the vegetable-origin protein composition with water.

f. Separating the washed vegetable-origin protein composition by centrifugation at 3500 RPM for 5 minutes.

g. Neutralizing to a pH of 6.9-7.1 using an alkali.

h. Spray-drying the vegetable-origin protein composition.

The following table shows the grams of vegetable-origin protein composition extracted per 100 grams of different single vegetable protein sources using the prior art method above-mentioned, except for soybean flour which was not further ground.

Table 1

In the examples that follow, this balance is used to make the equivalences of the prior art methods with the method of the invention. In other words, the properties of compositions obtained by using 100 grams of soybean and 100 grams of yellow pea under the principles of the present invention, will be comparedto the properties of a vegetable-origin protein composition obtained by mixing 33.25 grams of soybean protein isolate with 15.36 grams of yellow pea protein isolate, in order to measure the magnitude of the properties that are modified. Example 2

This example shows a prior art method of obtaining a vegetable-origin protein compositions by mixing different vegetable protein sources isolates of each single source.

After obtaining the soybean, chickpea, yellow pea and maize single protein isolate powder using the method shown in example 1, the different protein isolates were then dry-mixed to obtain vegetable-origin protein compositions of the prior art.

The following table shows the different groups of mixes that were produced by the above-mentioned prior art method.

Table 2

Example 3

This example shows an embodiment of the method according to the present invention wherein at least two vegetable protein sources are extracted together.

The procedure consists of:

1. Grinding the vegetable protein sources using a pin type mill until obtaining a maximum particle size of 0.420mm by using a -40 U.S. Mesh and blend them.

2. Adding water at 50 °C at a 10: 1 ratio to form an aqueous suspension.

3. Extracting vegetable-origin protein compositions by the same method used in example

1.

The following table shows the different groups of vegetable protein sources used.

Table 3

Example 4

This example shows a comparative analysis of the functional properties (water solubility, water absorption, fat absorption and foaming capacity) between the vegetable-origin protein compositions obtained in example 2 and 3, thus demonstrating the modification of said properties by using an embodiment of the method according to the present invention with respect to the properties of the single source isolates. The following tables show the different vegetable protein sources used in the experiment and the grams of vegetable-origin protein composition obtained.

Table 4.1

Table 4.2

Table 4.3

As it may be observed, in the different tables the compositions compared for the prior art and the present invention are equivalent in the sense that the same amount of vegetable protein source was used, even though the amount of single protein for the compositions of the present invention was not determined accurately because of the complexity of the protein composition obtained. However, the total protein content was determined and also compared.

The methods used to measure the functional properties are the following:

Water Solubility 1. Making a 100 ml dispersion of 5% water (w / w) of the vegetable-origin protein composition in the sample (use Kjeldahl's analysis in the dry sample) and adjust the pH to 7.0 (with NaOH or HCI, depending on the case)

2. Centrifuging at 20,000 rpm (28,000 g) for 30 min.

3. Separating the supernatant from the pellet.

4. Weighing the supernatant and determine protein content.

5. Heating 20 ml of the supernatant in a water bath in a centrifuge bottle at 98-100 ° C for 30 min and then allow cooling to room temperature.

6. Centrifuging at 20,000 rpm (28,000 g) for 15 min.

7. Filtering with Whatman #2 filter paper.

8. Weighing the filtrate and calculate protein content.

Water Absorption

1. Making a dispersion of 15 ml of tap water and 1 gram of the vegetable-origin protein composition and adjust the pH to 7.0 (with NaOH or HCI, depending on the case).

2. Vortexing for 2 min.

3. Letting rest the sample for 30 min at room temperature.

4. Centrifuging at 1,000 g for 5 min.

4. Weighing the undernatant and determine solids content.

5. Expressing water solubility in wet basis as the percentage of undernatant solids content in one gram of product

Fat Absorption

1. Making a dispersion of 10 ml of soy oil and 1 gram of the vegetable-origin protein composition.

2. Vortexing for 5 min.

3. Letting rest the sample for 30 min at room temperature.

4. Centrifuging at 2,000 g rpm for 5 min.

4. Weighing the undernatant and determine solids content.

5. Expressing Fat absorption in wet basis as the percentage of undernatant solids content in one gram of product.

Foaming Capacity

1. Producing a 3% (w / v) protein dispersion from the vegetable-origin protein composition, using the Micro-Kjendahl analysis on a dry basis and taking into account the humidity of the sample.

1. Weighing 100 ml of protein dispersion in a souffle glass.

2. Adding the solution to a blender and stir at maximum speed for 15 minutes.

3. Measuring the weight of the complete solution with foam at 5 minute intervals, and return it to the blender.

4. Calculating the foaming capacity with the weight after 15 minutes of stirring. The following tables show the results of the assessment of water solubility, water and fat absorption and foaming capacity for the vegetable-origin protein compositions obtained with a prior art method (example 2) and a method according to the principles of the present invention (example 3).

Table 5.1

Table 5.2

Table 5.3

In Tables 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 is shown that the water solubility and the foaming capacity increase for those compositions of the present invention, when the extraction procedure is done with different vegetable protein raw sources, according to the principles of the present invention. Therefore, the compositions of the present invention may be used in an application that requires a better water solubility and foaming capacity for which the prior art compositions may not perform at all. On the other hand, the water and fat absorptions decrease, allowing the use of the vegetable-origin protein composition in applications that require lesser water and fat absorption. This proves that the present invention greatly changes the functional properties of the vegetable-origin protein composition obtained even when the same sources are used in the same amounts or ratios.

Example 5

This example shows another embodiment of the method according to the present invention with a vegetable protein source based on soybean in combination with corn germ.

The method used is the following:

1. Grinding 100 grams of soybean flour and 100 grams of corn germ using a hammer type mill until obtaining a maximum particle size of 0.420mm by using a -40 U.S. Mesh.

2. Adding water at 50 ° at a 10: 1 ratio in a tank with agitation and recirculation for a period of 3 hours. 3. Extracting the vegetable-origin protein composition by:

a. Adjusting the pH with sulfuric acid (H₂S0₄) to a pH of 3.0 with stirring and recirculation and keeping the temperature in the range of 45 to 50 °C for 1.5 hours.

b. Passing the aqueous suspension through a colloidal mill recirculating for 60 minutes.

c. Sending the aqueous suspension to a mixing tank where it remains in recirculation for 30 minutes, maintaining the temperature between 43 and 47 degrees Celsius and the pH at 3.0.

d. Filtering the aqueous suspension with a filter press or decanter where the largest amount of solids is discarded.

e. Neutralizing in a tank where calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) is added to bring it to the isoelectric point of the vegetable-origin proteins which is a pH between 4.5 and 5.0. In this tank it remains with stirring about 15 minutes at room temperature. At this point the vegetable- origin protein composition will precipitate.

f. Decanting until all insoluble solids are removed in the slurry.

g. Diluting with water to 15% solids w/w for subsequent spray drying, the parameters in which the Spray Dryer works is at an inlet temperature of 180 °C, and outlet temperature of 80 °C.

After completing the experiment, 17.2 grams of vegetable-origin protein composition was obtained, which is identified as example 5 results, group 5.1.

Example 6

This example shows another embodiment of the method according to the principles of the present invention, which is similar than the one depicted in example 5but with the application of a magnetic field according to the present invention in order to demonstrate the change in the functional properties compared with the method of example 5.

The method used is the same as the method used in example 5 with an additional step between steps b) and c), wherein said additional step is: applying a magnetic field, ensuring that the field is maintained between 3000 and 4500 Gauss with a frequency of 60hertz.

After completing the experiment, 17.2 grams of vegetable-origin protein composition was obtained, which is identified as example 6 results, group 6.1.

Example 7

This example shows a comparative analysis of functional properties between the vegetable-origin protein compositions obtained in example 3, 5 and 6 in order to observe the changes in water solubility, heat-coagulation and foaming capacity, when vegetable protein sources are changed and when a magnetic field is applied.

The water solubility and foaming capacity were measured using the methods described in example 4, and the heat-coagulation was measured using the Kjeldahl method. The changes produced in water solubility and foaming capacity by changing only the vegetable protein source are presented in the following table.

Table 5

In Table 5 is shown that the water solubility and foaming capacity can drastically change just by using different vegetable protein sources, for instance, group 5.1 is significantly lower than group 3.1 and 3.2 and the three of them use soybean in combination with another vegetable protein source and the method according to the present invention.

Now, the results of the changes in water solubility, heat-coagulation and foaming capacity due to the effect of applying a magnetic field are shown in table 6.

Table 6

In Table 6is shown that the application of a magnetic field can change the functional properties of a vegetable-origin protein composition, for example, the water solubility increased, making it more fit for application when a higher water solubility is needed. Also, the heat-coagulation the foaming capacity increase when a magnetic field is applied, in order to make it more suitable for applications that need higher foaming capacity or higher water solubility.

It can be observed that the functional properties of the vegetable-origin protein composition are modified using the principles of the present invention and a person skilled in the art will know how to take advantage of this to optimize the properties required for a specific usage of the protein composition.

According to the principles of the invention as described above, it is clearly shown to those skilled in the art that the invention shall not be limited to specific protein vegetable sources but that the present invention contributes to the prior art by providing a method to modified the properties of vegetable-origin protein compositions that otherwise would be different if isolated independently and then mixed, and that the modification of the properties are substantial by following the principles of the present invention regardless of the order of magnitude of each property itself.

Therefore, the present invention shall not be limited except for the requirements of the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining a vegetable-origin protein composition with modified functional or nutritional properties for use in food products that comprises a water suspension step of ground vegetable material to obtain an aqueous suspension; and an extraction step to obtain a vegetable-origin protein composition from the aqueous suspension, wherein the method further comprises at least one of the following:

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the functional properties is selected from water and fat absorption capacities, solubility, foaming capacity, emulsifying ability, flavor and odor and the nutritional properties might be amino acid profile.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from any raw vegetal grains, pulses, cereals or the like.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from corn, soybean, pea, yellow pea, chickpea, bean, canola, rice, wheat, sorghum, rye, quinoa, or amaranth.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from at least two vegetable protein raw sources.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from regular or non-allergenic sources.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the vegetable protein source is a mixture of corn, soybean, yellow pea and chickpea.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the non-allergenic vegetable-origin protein composition vegetable protein sources are at least yellow pea and chickpea.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ground vegetable material is achieved by grinding at least one vegetable protein source until obtaining a maximum particle size of 0.420mm.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the vegetable protein source is ground by any dry-grinding means.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the dry-grinding means are selected from milling equipment.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the milling equipment is selected from a pin type mill or a hammer type mill.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the aqueous suspension is obtained by adding water to the ground vegetable material.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the aqueous suspension is formed at a temperature between of 10°C and 70°C.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the aqueous suspension is formed at 45

°C and 55 °C.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the aqueous suspension pH is maintained between 7 and 9.

17. The method according to claim 13, wherein the ratio of the ground vegetable material to water in the aqueous suspension is between 1 :4 and 1: 15.

18. The method according to claim 11, wherein the extraction is selected from water based extraction, TCA-acetone extraction, phenol/methanol extraction, alkaline extraction, and multidetergent extraction.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the vegetable-origin proteins are extracted through a water-based or alkaline extraction procedure.

20. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field through which a flow of the aqueous suspension of ground vegetable material is passed has a range value of 3000 to 4200 Gauss.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein the magnetic field has a frequency of lOhertz to 70 hertz.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the frequency is of 60 hertz.

23. A vegetable-origin protein composition with at least one functional or nutritional property modified in at least +/- 8% with respect to the same functional or nutritional property of a composition consisting of a blend of vegetable-origin proteins isolated from the corresponding single vegetable protein source.

24. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the modified functional or nutritional property is selected from water absorption, foaming capacity, heat-coagulation, emulsifying ability, flavor and odor.

25. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from any raw vegetal grains, pulses, cereals or the like.

26. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 25, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from corn, soybean, pea, yellow pea, chickpea, bean, canola, rice, wheat, sorghum, rye, quinoa, or amaranth.

27. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the vegetable protein source are selected from at least two vegetable protein sources.

28. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 27, wherein the vegetable protein source is selected from regular or non-allergenic sources.

29. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 27, wherein the vegetable protein source are a mixture of corn, soybean, yellow pea and chickpea.

30. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 28, wherein the non- allergenic vegetable-origin protein composition the preferred sources are at least pea and chickpea.

31. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the functional or nutritional property is water solubility.

32. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 31, wherein the water solubility of the vegetable-origin protein composition is between 8.9% and 74.11%.

33. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 32, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn and the water solubility is of 71.15%.

33. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 32, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean, corn and chickpea and the water solubility is of 69.22%.

34. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 32, wherein the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea and the water solubility is of 74.11%.

35. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 34, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ and the water solubility is of 8.9%.

36. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 32, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ, and the water solubility is of 12.6%.

37. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the functional or nutritional property is foaming capacity.

38. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 37, wherein the foaming capacity of the vegetable-origin protein composition is between 4.5% and 70%.

39. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 37, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn and the foaming capacity is of 70%.

40. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 37, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean, corn and chickpea and the foaming capacity is of 18%.

41. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 37, wherein the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea, the foaming capacity is of 40%, when the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ and the foaming capacity is of 4.5%.

42. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 37, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ, and the foaming capacity is of 18.4%.

43. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the functional or nutritional property is water absorption.

44. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 44, wherein the water absorption of the vegetable-origin protein composition is between 2.01 and 3.11.

45. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 45, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn and the water absorption is of 2.01.

46. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 44, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean, corn and chickpea and the water absorption is of 3.11.

47. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 44, wherein the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea and the water absorption is of 2.56.

48. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the functional or nutritional property is fat absorption.

49. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 48, wherein the fat absorption of the vegetable-origin protein composition is between 158.36% and 185.64%.

50. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 49, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn and the fat absorption is of 185.64%.

51. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 49, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean, corn and chickpea and the fat absorption is of 179.20%.

52. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 49, wherein the protein vegetable sources are yellow pea and chickpea, the fat absorption is of 158.36%.

53. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 23, wherein the functional or nutritional property is heat-coagulation.

54. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 53, wherein the heat- coagulation of the vegetable-origin protein composition is between 6.0% and 6.5%.

55. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 54, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ, and the heat-coagulation is of 6.0%.

56. The vegetable-origin protein composition according to claim 54, wherein the protein vegetable sources are soybean and corn germ and the heat-coagulation is of 6.5%.