PCP 1: Non-Food Utilization of Animal Protein By-Products
Monday morning
Chair(s): G. Piazza, USDA, ARS, ERRC, USA; and R. Garcia, USDA, ARS, ERRC, USA
Introduction.
Industrial Protein Utilization: The Multifunctioning "By-Product".
J. Schmitz,
Iowa State University, Ames, IA, USA
The term green products has a variety of meanings, but most commonly it refers to biofuels and clean energy. Biobased products are viewed as the future of materials, but an inspection of the past shows they were prevalent through much of the 20th century. The current resurgence in biobased products has to some extent bypassed protein sources - animal and plant sources alike. A detailed overview of nonfood and nonfeed protein use is presented along with thoughts on the future scale of protein sources that may be available.
Novel Peptide-Based Materials from Restructured Agricultural Proteins.
J. Barone, A. Athamneh, N. Budhavaram, Z. Li,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
The ratio of ordered to disordered (O/D) regions in a protein determines its physical properties. This is reminiscent of the naïve “fringed micelle” model in polymer science. It is possible to change the O/D ratio through several methods, including external plasticization, internal plasticization, and enzymatic re-structuring. External plasticization involves using a small molecular weight polar molecule to lower protein Tg and increase strain to break (ε) by increasing the amount of disordered regions in the protein. Internal plasticization is a functionalization technique that increases ε and lowers Tg by covalently attaching bulky side groups (BSG) to the protein to increase disordered regions. Ordered regions in the protein can be increased by enzymatically cleaving a protein at a BSG that is a known structure-breaker then re-attaching the peptide segments in a close-packed array with another enzyme.
Biodegradable Plastics from Animal Protein Co-Products.
S. Sharma, J.N. Hodges, I. Luzinov,
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA
Recently, the outbreak of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in Europe has led to prohibition/limitation of the use of various animal co-product proteins in ruminant feed. The excessive availability of these protein materials has encouraged the search for alternative uses of them, such as fabrication of biodegradable plastics. In this research work, plastic samples from partially denatured feathermeal and bloodmeal proteins were successfully produced by the compression-molding process. The modulus (stiffness) for the material obtained was found to be comparable with that of commercial synthetic material but with lower toughness characteristics, which is a common phenomenon among plastics produced from animal and plant proteins. Several ways to improve the properties of the plastics have been explored.
Production of Peptones from Animal Protein By-Products for Use in Industrial Fermentation.
R.A. Garcia1, D. Pyle2, G.J. Piazza1, Z. Wen2,
1Fats Oils and Animal Coproducts Research Unit, Eastern Regional Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, Wyndmoor, PA, USA, 2Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA
Animal protein by-products such as meat & bone meal, hydrolyzed feather meal, or blood meal may be useful as a source of nitrogen and micronutrients for industrial fermentations, especially for fermentations involving fastidious microorganisms that do not grow well in chemically-defined media. These by-products, however, are not well suited for use in fermentation media without further processing. In the present work, animal by-products were defatted, hydrolyzed by enzyme or alkali treatment and then spray dried. Hydrolysates of different protein by-products, hydrolyzed in various manners, were analyzed for degree of hydrolysis and the degradation, racemization and crosslinking of amino acids. Practical performance characteristics including the viscosity, foaming, autoclave stability and clarity of hydrolysate solutions were also determined. The overall results indicate that enzymatic hydrolysis can produce a superior product, but at greater cost. Choice of a hydrolysate method ultimately depends on the requirements of the specific fermentation organism.
Meat and Bone Meal Extract and Gelatin as Renewable Flocculants.
G.J. Piazza, R.A. Garcia,
Eastern Regional Research Center, ARS, USDA, Wyndmoor, PA, USA
We investigated whether proteins can be used as renewable clay flocculants to potentially replace polyacrylamide (PAM), a flocculant derived from natural gas. A laboratory test for clay flocculation was developed. This test was validated using commercial anionic PAM. When calcium chloride was present, anionic PAM promoted clay flocculation, but PAM was not effective without calcium chloride. Two soy proteins, a whey fraction, a porcine gelatin, and a meat & bone meal (MBM) extract were used in the flocculation test. It was found that MBM extract and porcine gelatin promoted clay flocculation. With the addition of calcium chloride, 88, 99, and 97% of the clay was settled after 24 h in the presence of optimal amounts of PAM, gelatin, and MBM extract, respectively. Without the addition of calcium chloride, gelatin and MBM extract were still effective, and 99 and 97% of the clay was settled after 24 h in the presence of optimal amounts of these proteins, respectively. These figures compare favorably to those from no flocculant controls, in which approximately 50% of the clay had settled with or without the addition of calcium chloride after 24 h. However, compared to PAM more than 20 times more gelatin and more than 500 times more MBM extract were needed for optimal clay flocculation. Also analysis showed that the MBM extract contained mostly degraded protein.
Break.
Potential Uses of a Novel Mucin Extracted From Jellyfish.
K. Ushida1, T. Baba1, M. Urai1, K. Taniguchi1, J. Uzawa1, K. Kihira1, A. Masuda2, N. Dohmae2, M. Yamamura3, H. Wada3,
1Eco-Soft Materials Research Unit, Riken, Wako, Saitama, Japan, 2Biomolecular Characterization Team, Riken, Wako, Saitama, Japan, 3Shinwa Chemical Industries, Ltd., Kyoto, Japan
Mass occurrence of jellyfish is now called “Jellyfish Explosion” and reported all around the world probably because of the effect of marine pollutions, global warming, and overfishing. A novel mucin was extracted from various kinds of jellyfish which accumulate in a huge amount on fishing sites and power plants as marine wastes. Its main chain structure made of short tandem repeats with 8 amino acids and the core structure around O-glycoside bonds were clarified. The amino acid sequence of tandem repeat –VVETTAAP- is similar to that of human mucin MUC5AC, -TTSTTSAP-. Since the jellyfish is a primitive animal species. this mucin has very simple glycoforms and can be used as a starting material to produce a designer mucin by use of glycosyltransferases. It has a large potential to be used in various application including medical use, pharmacy, food additives, and cosmetics because it can be a base material to make artificial mucus mimicking its functions that are indispensable to sustain lives. The approximate yield of mucin is about 1 kg from several tons of jellyfish in wet weight. The mass production of mucin from wastes with simple and well-defined structure are now in our scope.
Investigating Protein Hydrolysates for Use as Herbivore Repellents.
B.A. Kimball1,2,
1USDA, APHIS, National Wildlife Research Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Damage to agricultural, horticultural, and ornamental plants by foraging herbivores is a significant and costly problem. Among the many non-toxic active ingredients that have been tested as repellents, animal products such as egg, blood and urine have consistently proven to be the most efficacious. It was previously thought that malodorous volatiles released from these animal-based repellents invoked a ′fear response′ through their chemosensory association with predators. However, this mechanism is inconsistent with observed herbivore behavior. I propose that the protein fraction of animal-based repellents deters herbivory by altering palatability of the treated food. Accordingly, several proteins and protein hydrolysates were evaluated as herbivore repellents. In experiments with captive deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), casein hydrolysate-treated foods were completely avoided. Casein hydrolysate also reduced intake of mountain beavers (Aplodontia rufa) and pocket gophers (Thomomys mazama), whereas rabbits (Oryctolagus spp.) demonstrated greater avoidance of hydrolyzed collagen. Subsequent studies have demonstrated that species adopting strict herbivorous digestive strategies are more likely to avoid protein hydrolysates than omnivorous species such as rats (Ratus spp.) or coyotes (Canis latrans).
Gasification of Salmon Processing Waste.
C. DeWitt1, S. Rowland1, K. Patil1, C. Bower2,
1Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA, 2USDA, ARS, Fairbanks, AK, USA
The seasonal salmon harvest is often conducted in isolated areas in Alaska. Infrastructure is often lacking and traditional waste remediation strategies, such as rendering, often are not economically feasible. An alternative approach was therefore sought to capture value from salmon waste. Gasification is a process that uses high temperatures (700°C) in a low oxygen environment to produce gas (syngas). This project attempts to determine whether high moisture products, such as salmon waste, can be gasified. Production of syngas from high moisture products is difficult. A drying agent is therefore needed to reduce moisture. A good source of dry material is municipal solid waste (i.e. paper, corrugate, and wood pallets). Therefore, salmon waste products were dried to 20% moisture content using wood pellets. Products evaluated were whole fish, heads, viscera, or frames (raw or de-oiled). Syngas heating value was measured from H2, CO, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, and C2H6 produced from biomass during gasification. Results demonstrated that the heating value of salmon waste mixed with pellets was not significantly different from whole pellets. Efficiency of gas production in the pilot scale gasifier, however, was only about 25% when compared to maximum values obtained using bomb calorimetery. Results demonstrate gasification is possible when salmon biomass is dried using wood pellets.
Preserving High-Protein Fish By-Products through Silages and Fermentates.
C.K. Bower, K.A. Hietala,
USDA , ARS, Fairbanks, AK, USA
In Alaska, over three million metric tons of fish by-products are generated each year. However, due to the remote locations and seasonal nature of salmon fisheries, by-products are generally not fully utilized unless a fish meal plant is located nearby. Acidification is a common method for inhibiting microorganisms and promoting autolysis of animal tissues, thereby preserving perishable foods such as fish.In these studies, salmon by-products were stabilized using a variety of acidification methods, then the quality of the high-protein fish was evaluated. Hot-smoking technologies reduced the pH to 4.8, preserved proteins, and eliminated all “fishy” odors. Fermentation by lactic acid bacteria lowered the salmon by-products to pH 4.5 during 18 weeks of storage, but destroyed much of the fish protein. Fermentations using local agricultural discards such as potatoes as a carbohydrate source were not effective for stabilizing the pH of salmon. Ensilage through direct acidification using organic and inorganic acids decreased protein quality, but maintained a pH below 4.5 for 18 weeks. Alternative methods of preservation are needed to decrease the loss of valuable marine proteins and oils, and to provide salmon processors with environmentally sound options for adding value to by-products currently discarded as waste.