Improving the Lipophilic Antioxidant Activity of Poultry Protein Hydrolisates Through Chemical Esterification

Purpose: Poultry protein hydrolysates (PPHs) are obtained as by-product of poultry slaughter industry using bio catalytic hydrolysis. These protein hydrolysates have good antioxidant properties, which make them potential functional ingredient to prevent the oxidation of meat derived products. However, protein hydrolysates have a poor solubility in lipid media. Methods: To increase the solubilisation in the lipid phase, thus improving antioxidant properties on the fatty acids, several esterification reactions were carried out using different alcohols. The reactions were monitored by LC–MS and the shift in antioxidant activity was assessed with hydrophilic and lipophilic ABTS assay. Results: A good increase in the lipophilicity of the esterified PPHs is shown, proportional to the increase of the alcohol chain length. Accordingly, a significant increase of the lipophilic antioxidant activity, especially for longest chain alcohols, was also observed. Conclusions: These results indicated that the chemical esterification of PPHs with food-grade long chain alcohol can be a valuable approach to increase the lipophilic antioxidant properties of these products. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]