Valorization of an Abundant Slaughterhouse By-product as a Source of Highly Technofunctional and Antioxidant Protein Hydrolysates

Purpose Chicken blood meal (CBM) is a slaughterhouse by-product of great environmental concern, rich in protein and iron, mainly used as animal feed and fertilizer. In this work, the valorization of CBM as a source of protein hydrolysates (CBMH) is proposed. Methods The hydrolysis reaction conditions were assessed using a Doehlert experimental design. Samples of CBMH were thus prepared at optimal conditions: T = 54 °C, pH 8.5 and enzyme-to-substrate ratio (E/S) = 6.5% with different reaction durations in order to study the impact of the degree of hydrolysis (DH) on the properties of the product. The characteristics studied in the hydrolysates were among others: chemical structure, technofunctional properties [compared to those from soy protein isolate (SPI)] and antioxidant activity. Results CBMH samples displayed MW