Rheological Behavior of Protein Hydrolysates from Papain-treated Male Gonad of Scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis)

In the present study, the rheological behavior of hydrolysates from scallop male gonad hydrolysates (SMGHs) was studied. The hydrolysates were obtained from scallop male gonads (SMGs) using papain. The changes in molecular mass of proteins in SMGHs were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The results showed that the proteins of SMGs were significantly degraded after hydrolysis with papain. The degree of hydrolysis reached to 17.8% and 20.8% for SMGHs treated by papain at 300 and 3,000 U/g protein, respectively. The SMGHs exhibited a weak strain overshoot behavior as well as non-Newtonian shear thinning flow behavior. Moreover, the rheological properties of SMGHs possessed a papain dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that SMGHs could be applied as a potential gelling and thickening agent in food formulations.