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Milk-Clotting and Proteolytic Properties of a Partially Purified Pepsin from Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) and its Potential for Cheesemaking

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Abstract

The dairy industry traditionally uses aspartic proteases from bovine and microbial sources for cheese processing, but there is interest in alternative enzyme sources to supply the large global demand for rennet. This study investigated the biochemical characterization of a partially purified pepsin of yellowfin tuna with milk-clotting activity (MCA), in addition to evaluating its potential use in the manufacture of fresh cheese through texturometric and organoleptic characterization. The molecular weight of tuna pepsin was 36 kDa. The optimal temperature of MCA was recorded at 60 °C. Caseinolytic activity and MCA of tuna pepsin peaked at pH 6. A high MCA was recorded when 0.018% CaCl2 was added to the reaction mixture. The electrophoretic profile of casein hydrolyzed by tuna pepsin showed a 14.8 kDa fragment, a molecular weight like that of para-κ-casein. Cheeses made from commercial chymosin and tuna pepsin showed a similar protein content (11% of total wet weight); however, cheese produced with pepsin had a higher fat content. The cohesiveness and chewiness of cheese made with partially purified pepsin were significantly higher than those made with chymosin. There were no differences in the sensory analysis between cheese made with both clotting agents; however, 60% of panelists preferred cheese made with chymosin. Pepsin extracted from yellowfin tuna stomach showed interesting milk-clotting properties with potential biotechnological use, which would contribute to the reusing and revalorization of byproducts derived from the tuna processing industry.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank to Ingeniería Industrial del Pacífico, S.A. (IIPSA) for their kind donation of fishery by products. Also, the authors thank María Elena Sánchez Salazar for her editorial work in English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maestría en Ciencias Aplicadas, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería en Biotecnología, Universidad Politécnica de Sinaloa, 82199, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico

    Idalia Osuna-Ruíz, Jesús Aarón Salazar-Leyva, Israel Benítez-García & Emmanuel Martínez-Montaño

  2. Ingeniería en Biotecnología, Unidad Académica de Ingeniería en Biotecnología, Universidad Politécnica de Sinaloa, 82199, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico

    Reyna Tiznado-Garzón

  3. Laboratorio de Integral de Investigación de Alimentos, Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico de Tepic, 63175, Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico

    María de Lourdes García-Magaña

  4. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Campo Experimental Valle de Culiacán, Agrícolas y Pecuarias, Sinaloa, Culiacán, 80000, Mexico

    Jesús Martín Moreno-Hernández

  5. Facultad de Ciencias del Mar, Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, 82000, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico

    Isaura Bañuelos-Vargas

  6. Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Av. Sábalo Cerritos S/N, A. C., Mazatlán, Sinaloa, 82112, Mexico

    Crisantema Hernández

  7. Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, CONACYT, Ciudad de Mexico, México

    Emmanuel Martínez-Montaño

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  1. Idalia Osuna-Ruíz
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  9. Emmanuel Martínez-Montaño
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Contributions

Emmanuel Martínez-Montaño: conceptualization, investigation, experimentation, and original draft preparation; Idalia Osuna-Ruíz: conceptualization, experimentation, and original draft preparation; Jesús Aarón Salazar-Leyva: conceptualization, manuscript reviewing, and resource management; Reyna Tiznado Garzón: experimentation and data analysis; María de Lourdes García-Magaña: experimentation, data analysis, and original draft preparation; Israel Benítez García: manuscript reviewing; Jesús Martín Moreno-Hernández: manuscript reviewing; Isaura Bañuelos-Vargas: experimentation and data analysis; Crisantema Hernández: experimentation and data analysis.

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Correspondence to Emmanuel Martínez-Montaño.

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Osuna-Ruíz, I., Tiznado-Garzón, R., Salazar-Leyva, J.A. et al. Milk-Clotting and Proteolytic Properties of a Partially Purified Pepsin from Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) and its Potential for Cheesemaking. Food Bioprocess Technol 16, 1769–1780 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-023-03030-3

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