Final Activity Report Summary - NOVELIN (Novel ingredients for healthier foods) The feasibility of conjugation of soy protein isolate (SPI) and reducing sugars, such as monosacharides, oligosacharides and polysaccharides, by means of the Maillard reaction to produce new ingredients for healthier foods was studied as part of this project. The protein-sugar ratio, water content, temperature and reaction time were crucial parameters for obtaining high glycation yields and avoiding excessive production of undesirable advanced products of the Maillard reaction. The selection of all these parameters highly depended on the molecular weight of the employed polysaccharide. Higher molecular weights of the polysaccharide resulted in reduced reactivity. Dextran preparations possessing molecular weights higher than 43,000 D were found to be less reactive. In others words, drastic conditions were needed in liquid and solid systems. These requirements made the scale-up to industrial proportions difficult. There were many studies that showed the benefits of the conjugation of proteins with polysaccharides, such as masking of the allergenicity and improvement of technological properties. However, they did not provide information related to the obtained glycation yield. These data were very important when translating the basic research findings to the industry. Conjugation of oligosaccharides or low molecular weight polysaccharides, as carried out in this study, seemed to be more suitable to achieve this objective. The selection of starting materials possessing attractive properties such as antibacterial, e.g. chito-oligosacharide, or prebiotic, e.g. oligofructose, characteristics could guarantee the production of new ingredients possessing the original activity of the starting compounds. However, a positive impact of the conjugation on the properties of the new ingredients was not always expected. Therefore, more investigations were necessary to produce high-quality ingredients for healthier foods.
