Characterisation of the protein quality and composition of water kefir-fermented casein

Mohammad Alrosan; Thuan-Chew Tan; Azhar Mat Easa; Sana Gammoh; Muhammad H Alu'datt; Stan Kubow; Ali Madi Almajwal; Sofyan Maghaydah; Ammar A Razzak Mahmood; Ali Al-Qaisi; Haya AlFandi

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138574

Characterisation of the protein quality and composition of water kefir-fermented casein

Food Chem. 2024 Jun 15:443:138574. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138574. Epub 2024 Jan 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Food Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia; Applied Science Research Center, Applied Science Private University, Amman 11937, Jordan. Electronic address: mohammad.alrosan@hotmail.com.
² Food Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia; Renewable Biomass Transformation Cluster, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia. Electronic address: thuanchew@usm.my.
³ Food Technology Division, School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia.
⁴ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan.
⁵ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan; Department of Food Science and Nutrition, College of Life Sciences, Kuwait University, P.O. Box. 5969, Safat 13060, Kuwait.
⁶ School of Human Nutrition, Macdonald Campus, McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-De-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada.
⁷ Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 10219, Riyadh 11433, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Department of Nutrition and Food Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan; Department of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, P.O. Box 59911, United Arab Emirates.
⁹ Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy-University of Baghdad, Baghdad, Bab-Al-Mouadam 10001, Iraq.
¹⁰ Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie, Jaffa Street, Tulkarm, P.O. Box 7, Palestine.

PMID: 38309026
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.138574

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the technique of natural fermentation by applying water kefir to the casein protein. The diverse microorganisms and their enzymes found naturally in the water kefir can influence casein's characteristics. The fermented casein's protein quality (digestibility and secondary protein structure) and composition (total soluble solids and nutritive and non-nutritive substances) were investigated. Our findings revealed that the fermented casein's protein digestibility and total phenolic content increased from 82.46 to 88.60 % and 7.6 to 8.0 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g, respectively. In addition, their surface charge and hydrophobicity changed from -30.06 to -34.93 mV and 286.9 to 213.7, respectively. Furthermore, the fermented casein's secondary protein components, α-helix (decreased from 13.66 to 8.21 %) and random coil (increased from 16.88 to 19.61 %), were also altered during the fermentation. Based on these findings, the water kefir fermentation approach could be an effective, practical, non-thermal approach for improving casein's protein quality and composition.

Keywords: Casein; Fermentation; Protein alteration; Protein digestibility; Water kefir.

MeSH terms

Caseins
Fermentation
Kefir* / analysis

Substances

Caseins