ENHANCEMENT OF TECHNO-FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES IN GERMINATED CANARY GRASS PROTEIN CONCENTRATE

The demand for alternative protein sources has intensified in recent years due to environmental, economic, and lifestyle factors. Underutilized pseudocereals, such as canary grass (Phalaris canariensis), have emerged as promising sources of novel proteins, and germination is a viable strategy to enhance their techno-functional properties. This study evaluated the techno-functional properties of protein concentrates (PCs) obtained from canary grass germinated for different durations (0 h – control, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and 96 h). Seeds were soaked in distilled water (1:5, w/v) at 25 °C for 16 h, germinated at 30 °C and 80% relative humidity for up to 96 h, dried at 45 °C for 12 h, ground (18,000 rpm/3 min), and subjected to alkaline extraction (1:10, w/w; pH 12), isoelectric precipitation (pH 4.5), and freeze-drying. Samples were evaluated for water retention capacity (WRC), oil retention capacity (ORC), foaming capacity (FC), and solubility index (SI). Germination significantly improved WRC (from 2.55 ± 0.06 in the control to 4.09 ± 0.05 at 96 h) and ORC (from 3.24 ± 0.16 to 5.51 ± 0.13), likely due to enzymatic activity during germination, which promotes the exposure and rearrangement of hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. These enhancements were supported by increases of up to two- and threefold in SI and swelling capacity, respectively, compared to the control. FC initially increased, reaching 133.33 ± 0.00 after 48 h, but decreased at longer germination times, possibly due to protein aggregation minimizing system free energy.. Overall, intermediate germination (48 h) provided a balance among the evaluated properties,, highlighting the potential of germinated canary grass protein concentrate as a functional ingredient for food applications.