Physicochemical, Functional and Antioxidant Properties of the Major Protein Fractions Extracted from Prickly Pear ( Opuntia ficus indica L.) Seed Cake

Proteins were extracted from a prickly pear seed cake using the Osborne extraction method. Physico-chemical, antioxidant and functional properties of the major protein fractions (albumin and glutelin) were studied. Glutelin fraction presented good amount of proteins (60.42% dry weight) with appreciable essential amino acids content (24.45% of total amino acids). The Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy spectra showed between ~ 1200 and 1700 cm−1, characteristically peaks of proteins, namely, amide I, II and III for both fractions. Antioxidant activities of protein fractions were assessed in vitro through different antioxidant tests. The protein fractions exhibited good DPPH and metal scavenging activities. However, they demonstrated moderate reductive ability. Protein fractions had a minimum equilibrium surface tension at the isoelectric pH. They were characterized by interesting techno-functional properties such as emulsifying and foaming capacities which were affected by pH values. They also displayed significant water holding (480% for albumin fraction at pH 7) and oil holding (420% for glutelin at pH 7) capacities. The found results suggested that albumin and glutelin extracted from prickly pear seed cake could have important applications in food formulations.