A new method for protein extraction from sea lettuce (Ulva fenestrata) via surfactants and alkaline aqueous solutionsShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Food Chemistry, ISSN 0308-8146, E-ISSN 1873-7072, Vol. 464, article id 141839Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Alternative protein sources such as seaweed can help relieve the pressure on land-based protein supply. This proof-of-concept study developed an extraction method to recover soluble and lipophilic proteins from the seaweed Ulva fenestrata. The method consisted of processing U. fenestrata with 0.1–0.5 % aqueous Triton X-114 solution and reprocessing the pellet with an alkaline aqueous solution. Then, the solubilized proteins were precipitated via acidification. The new method extracted 3.4-times more protein, measured as total amino acids, compared to the control with two alkaline aqueous extraction cycles. Triton disrupted the chloroplasts and likely solubilized lipophilic membrane proteins as supported by microstructure and polypeptide pattern analysis. Triton-derived protein extracts contained lipids inside the precipitates/aggregates and were richer in fatty acids typical of photosynthetic membranes. The higher extraction yields are proposed to result from membrane charge neutralization upon acidification, triggering interactions between the membrane lipids and their subsequent precipitation with the lipophilic membrane protein.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier Ltd , 2025. Vol. 464, article id 141839
Keywords [en]
Plant Proteins; Surface-Active Agents; Ulva; Photosynthetic membranes; Seaweed; chlorophyll; essential amino acid; membrane protein; nitrogen; polypeptide; protein aggregate; triton x 114; plant protein; surfactant; Alkalines; Food proteins; Lipophilic membrane; Macro algae; Macro-algae; Membrane proteins; Protein extraction; Sea lettuce; Sustainable food protein; Thylakoid membrane proteins; acidification; alkalinity; amino acid analysis; aqueous solution; Article; biomass; chloroplast; chloroplast membrane; combustion; concentration (parameter); confocal laser scanning microscopy; controlled study; critical micelle concentration; elemental analysis; extraction; lipid bilayer; lipophilicity; molecular weight; nonhuman; photosynthesis; polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; precipitation; proof of concept; protein analysis; protein cross linking; protein determination; protein isolation; protein structure; scale up; seaweed; solubility; solubilization; supernatant; Ulva; Ulva fenestrata; water solubility; chemistry; isolation and purification; Nafion membranes
National Category
Chemical Sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ri:diva-78029DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.141839Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85208558133OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ri-78029DiVA, id: diva2:1950637
Note
The study was supported by Formas and conducted within the projects ‘CirkAlg’ (Grant no. 2018-01839) and ‘A manual for the use ofsustainable marine resources’ (Grant no. 2022–00331).
2025-04-082025-04-082025-04-08Bibliographically approved