The isolation, modification and evaluation of field pea proteins and their applications in foods

Field pea {Pisum sativum L.) is a well established crop around the world and over the last ten years, the production of this grain has been increasing in Australia. As with other grain legumes, field pea proteins contain high levels of lysine which may be important in balancing the deficiencies of this essential amino acid in cereal-based diets. In recent years, interest in plant proteins for feed and food led to the evaluation of field peas as an economical and nutritional source of proteins. Although some \nresearch work has been done on the production of field pea protein, starch and fiber as food ingredients in Europe and Canada, none of these attempts have resulted in a \ncommercial scale applications of pea proteins in the food market. The primary limitation to the development of \npea proteins as food ingredients is the lack of information on the technology and characterisation of the resulting products, in comparison with well-established soy proteins. The major purpose of this project has been focused on the isolation and characterisation of field pea proteins, both on a laboratory scale and on a pilot scale, as well as the functional properties evaluation of the resultant products for appropriate food applications. The feasibility of chemical modification in order to enhance the functional properties of the proteins is also included.