Protein hydrolysates have been increasingly used in specific formulations. This study aimed to obtain protein hydrolysates from wheat flour with appropriate peptide profile, from a nutritional point of view, i.e., containing high di-tripeptide and free amino acid contents, as well as low amounts of large peptides. Different hydrolytic conditions and sample treatments were tested, with the successive association of a commercial pancreatin and a raw enzymatic extract from the pineapple skin (RE). The order of enzyme addition, reaction temperature, enzyme:substrate ratio (E:S), and the effect of homogenization with ultra-turrax were evaluated, aiming the cost reduction on a large scale process. The peptide profile was evaluated by using a fractionation method, with size-exclusion-HPLC, followed by a Corrected Fraction Area method, for quantifying peptides and free amino acids. The best peptide profile was found for the hydrolysate obtained when pancreatin (E:S = 4:100) acted firstly for 3 hours and 30 minutes, followed by RE (E:S = 10:100), for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at optimal pH and temperature conditions of each enzyme, reaching higher di-tripeptide contents (16,98%), one of the highest free amino acids contents (42,70%), and the lowest large peptides content (13,09%). The use of ultra-turrax had no effect on the peptide profile.
Proteinase; agricultural residue; pineapple skin
