Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
The 37th EFFoST International Conference, Valencia, İspanya, 6 - 08 Kasım 2023, ss.304, (Özet Bildiri)
Extraction of Pumpkin Seed Protein by Using Different Methods
Mr Ozan Tas1 , Professor Mecit Halil Oztop1
1Middle East Technical University
Aim: Pumpkin seed is one of the most important agro-industrial wastes and is generally utilized for its oil content.
However, it also contains a significant amount of protein with essential amino acids (∼30%) thus it has a valuable potential
to be used as an alternative plant-based protein source. Hence, obtaining a reasonable amount of extracted protein with a
higher protein content is the aim of this study.
Method: Pumpkin seed flour was used as the raw material. Three different extraction techniques (alkali, salt, and enzymeassisted) with 2 different pre-treatment methods (microwave-assisted (MA), and conventional heating (CH)) were used to
obtain pumpkin seed protein (PSP) from its flour. In addition, untreated flour samples (UF) were also used for the different
extraction methods. The analysis evaluated extraction yield, proximal analysis, protein solubility, and structural changes by
Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
Results: The results showed that among 3 different techniques, both the extraction yield and the protein content were
the highest in the alkali-treated samples (p<0.05). In addition, MA treatment with the alkali method resulted in the
highest extraction yield (∼67%) and protein content (∼78%) compared to CH and UF samples (p<0.05). Besides, the
solubility of the PSP improved more in MA treated alkali samples with a shorter exposure time of microwave. FTIR
spectroscopy analysis compiled well with the results obtained from the other analysis.
Conclusion: This study revealed that the selection of extraction methods had a huge impact on the yield and the properties
of PSP, and the best results were obtained for the MA samples with the alkali treated method. This combination could be
used as an alternative extraction methodology due to its milder conditions to obtain PSP to a greater extent.