Preparation of soy protein isolate using calcium chloride extraction ("s703")

Abstract

A soy protein product having a protein content of at least about 60 wt % (N×6.25) d.b., preferably an isolate, is formed by a procedure in which soy protein is extracted from a soy source material using an aqueous calcium chloride solution at low pH, generally about 1.5 to about 5, and separating the resulting aqueous soy protein solution from residual soy protein source. The resulting clarified aqueous soy protein solution may be diluted and the pH adjusted within the range of 1.5-5.0. The solution may be concentrated by ultrafiltration, diafiltered and then dried to provide the soy protein product. The soy protein product is soluble in acidic medium and produces transparent, heat stable solutions and hence may be used for protein fortification of soft drinks and sports drinks.

What we claim is: 
     
         1 . A method of producing a soy protein product having a soy protein content of at least about 60 wt % (N×6.25) on a dry weight basis, which comprises:
 (a) extracting a soy protein source with an aqueous calcium salt solution at a pH of about 1.5 to about 5 to cause solubilization of soy protein from the soy protein source and to form an aqueous soy protein solution, 
 (b) separating the aqueous soy protein solution from residual soy protein source, 
 
     
     
         2 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said extraction step is effected using an aqueous calcium chloride solution having a concentration of less than about 1.0 M. 
     
     
         3 . The process of  claim 2  wherein said aqueous calcium chloride solution has a concentration of about 0.10 to about 0.15 M. 
     
     
         4 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said extraction step is effected at a temperature of about 15° to about 35° C. 
     
     
         5 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said aqueous soy protein solution has a protein concentration of about 5 to about 50 g/L. 
     
     
         6 . The process of  claim 5  wherein said protein concentration is about 10 to about 50 g/L. 
     
     
         7 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said aqueous calcium salt solution contains an antioxidant. 
     
     
         8 . The process of  claim 1  wherein, following said separation step, said aqueous soy protein solution is treated with an adsorbent to remove colour and/or odour compounds from the aqueous soy protein solution. 
     
     
         9 . The process of  claim 1  wherein following said separation step, the pH of the aqueous protein solution, is adjusted to a different value within the range of about 1.5 to about 5.0. 
     
     
         10 . The process of  claim 9  wherein the pH value is adjusted to about 1.5 to about 4.4. 
     
     
         11 . The process of  claim 10  wherein the pH value is adjusted to about 2.0 to 4.0. 
     
     
         12 . The process of  claim 1  wherein, following said separation step, said aqueous soy protein solution is diluted to a conductivity of less than about 80 mS. 
     
     
         13 . The process of  claim 12  wherein said aqueous soy protein solution is diluted with about 1 to about 10 volumes of water to provide a conductivity of said soy protein solution of about 4 to about 29 mS. 
     
     
         14 . The process of  claim 12  wherein said water has a temperature of about 2° C. to about 70° C. 
     
     
         15 . The process of  claim 14  wherein said temperature is about 10° to about 50° C. 
     
     
         16 . The process of  claim 15  wherein said temperature is about 20° to about 30° C. 
     
     
         17 . The process of  claim 12  wherein following said dilution step, the pH of the aqueous protein solution, is adjusted to a different value within the range of about 1.5 to about 5.0. 
     
     
         18 . The process of  claim 17  wherein the pH is adjusted to about 1.5 to about 4.4. 
     
     
         19 . The process of  claim 17  wherein the pH is adjusted to about 2.0 to about 4.0. 
     
     
         20 . The process of  claim 17  wherein said soy protein solution, following the dilution and pH adjustment steps has a conductivity of less than about 85 mS. 
     
     
         21 . The process of  claim 20  wherein said conductivity is about 4 to about 34 mS. 
     
     
         22 . The process of  claim 1 , wherein said aqueous protein solution is subjected to a heat treatment step to inactivate heat-labile anti-nutritional factors. 
     
     
         23 . The process of  claim 22  wherein the anti-nutritional factors are heat-labile trypsin inhibitors. 
     
     
         24 . The process of  claim 22  wherein the heat treatment step also pasteurizes the aqueous soy protein solution. 
     
     
         25 . The process of  claim 22 , wherein said heat treatment is effected at a temperature of about 70° to about 160° C. for about 10 seconds to about 60 minutes. 
     
     
         26 . The process of  claim 25  wherein said heat treatment is effected at a temperature of about 80° to about 120° C. for about 10 seconds to about 5 minutes. 
     
     
         27 . The process of  claim 26  wherein said heat treatment is effected at a temperature of about 85° C. to about 95° C. for about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes. 
     
     
         28 . The process of  claim 22  wherein the heat treated soy protein solution is cooled to a temperature of about 2° to about 60° C. for further processing. 
     
     
         29 . The process of  claim 28  wherein the heat treated soy protein solution is cooled to a temperature of about 20° to about 35° C. for further processing. 
     
     
         30 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said soy protein solution is dried to provide a soy protein product having a soy protein content of at least about 60 wt % (N×6.25) d.b. 
     
     
         31 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said soy protein solution is concentrated while maintaining the ionic strength thereof substantially constant to produce a concentrated soy protein solution having a protein concentration of about 50 to about 300 g/L and the concentrated soy protein solution is optionally diafiltered. 
     
     
         32 . The process of  claim 31  wherein said concentrated soy protein solution has a protein concentration of about 100 to about 200 g/L. 
     
     
         33 . The process of  claim 31  wherein said concentration step is effected by ultrafiltration using a membrane having a molecular weight cut-off of about 3,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons. 
     
     
         34 . The process of  claim 33  wherein said membrane has a molecular weight cut-off of about 5,000 to about 100,000 Daltons. 
     
     
         35 . The process of  claim 31  wherein a diafiltration step is effected using water, dilute saline, acidified water or acidified dilute saline on the soy protein solution before or after partial or complete concentration thereof. 
     
     
         36 . The process of  claim 35  wherein said diafiltration is effected using about 2 to about 40 volumes of diafiltration solution. 
     
     
         37 . The process of  claim 36  wherein said diafiltration is effected using about 5 to about 25 volumes of diafiltration solution. 
     
     
         38 . The process of  claim 35  wherein said diafiltration is effected until no significant further quantities of contaminants or visible colour are present in the permeate. 
     
     
         39 . The process of  claim 35  wherein said diafiltration is effected until the retentate has been sufficiently purified so as, when dried, to provide a soy protein isolate with a protein content of at least about 90 wt % (N×6.25) d.b. 
     
     
         40 . The process of  claim 35  wherein said diafiltration is effected using a membrane having a molecular weight cut-off of about 3,000 to about 1,000,000 Daltons. 
     
     
         41 . The process of  claim 40  wherein said membrane has a molecular weight cut-off of about 5,000 to about 100,000 Daltons. 
     
     
         42 . The process of  claim 35  wherein an antioxidant is present in the diafiltration medium during at least part of the diafiltration step. 
     
     
         43 . The process of  claim 31  wherein said concentration step and optional diafiltration step are carried out at a temperature of about 2° to about 60° C. 
     
     
         44 . The process of  claim 43  wherein said temperature is about 20° to about 35° C. 
     
     
         45 . The process of  claim 31  wherein the concentrated and optionally diafiltered soy protein solution is subjected to a heat treatment step to inactivate heat-labile anti-nutritional factors, including heat-labile trypsin. 
     
     
         46 . The process of  claim 45  wherein said heat treatment is effected at a temperature of about 70° to about 160° C. for about 10 seconds to 60 minutes, preferably a temperature of about 80° to about 120° C. for about 10 seconds to about 5 minutes, more preferably about 88° to about 95° C. for about 30 seconds to about 5 minutes. 
     
     
         47 . The process of  claim 46  wherein the heat treated soy protein solution is cooled to a temperature of about 2° to about 60° C., preferably about 20° to about 35° C., for further processing. 
     
     
         48 . The process of  claim 1  wherein said soy protein solution is concentrated and/or diafiltered to produce a concentrated and/or diafiltered soy protein solution which, when dried, provides a soy protein product having a protein concentration of at least about 60 wt % (N×6.25) d.b. 
     
     
         49 . The process of  claim 31  wherein said concentrated and optionally diafiltered soy protein solution is treated with an adsorbent to remove colour and/or odour compounds. 
     
     
         50 . The process of  claim 31  wherein said concentrated and optionally diafiltered soy protein solution is pasteurized prior to drying. 
     
     
         51 . The process of  claim 50  wherein said pasteurization step is effected at a temperature of about 55° to about 70° C. for about 30 seconds to about 60 minutes. 
     
     
         52 . The process of  claim 51  wherein said pasteurization step is effected at a temperature of about 60° to about 65° C. for about 10 to about 15 minutes. 
     
     
         53 . The process of  claim 52  wherein said concentrated and optionally diafiltered soy protein solution is dried to provide a soy protein isolate having a protein content of at least about 90 wt % (N×6.25) d.b. 
     
     
         54 . The process of  claim 53  wherein said soy protein isolate has a protein content of at least about 100 wt % (N×6.25) d.b. 
     
     
         55 . The process of  claim 31  wherein the concentration and/or optional diafiltration step are operated in a manner favourable to the removal of trypsin inhibitors. 
     
     
         56 . The process of  claim 1  wherein a reducing agent is present during the extraction step to disrupt or rearrange the disulfide bonds of trypsin inhibitors to achieve a reduction in trypsin inhibitor activity. 
     
     
         57 . The process of  claim 31  wherein a reducing agent is present during the concentration and/or optional diafiltration step to disrupt or rearrange the disulfide bonds of trypsin inhibitors to achieve a reduction in trypsin inhibitor activity. 
     
     
         58 . The process of  claim 48  wherein a reducing agent is added to the concentrated and optionally diafiltered soy protein solution prior to drying and/or the dried soy protein product to disrupt or rearrange the disulfide bonds of trypsin inhibitors to achieve a reduction in trypsin inhibitor activity. 
     
     
         59 . A soy protein product produced by the process of  claim 1 . 
     
     
         60 . An acidic solution having dissolved therein the soy protein product of  claim 59 . 
     
     
         61 . The aqueous solution of  claim 60  which is a beverage. 
     
     
         62 . The soy protein product of  claim 59  which is blended with water soluble powdered materials for the production of aqueous solutions of the blend. 
     
     
         63 . The blend of  claim 62  which is a powdered beverage. 
     
     
         64 . An aqueous solution with a near neutral pH, preferably in the pH range of about 6 to about 8, having dissolved therein the soy product of  claim 59 . 
     
     
         65 . The aqueous solution of  claim 64  which is a beverage.