Antioxidant Protein Hydrolysates and Peptides from Sorghum and Corn

For some time, consumers have been concerned about preservatives and additives in their food and whether they are truly safe for consumption. This has led to a growing trend in consumer preference for natural, clean labeling for additives, preservatives, and food ingredients in general. Many natural preservatives or antioxidants (examples: green tea extracts, rosemary extracts, grapeseed extracts, etc.) are expensive and have low extraction yields.

Researchers at Kansas State University have developed a novel method to use the by-products from corn or sorghum ethanol production to produce natural antioxidants by extracting protein hydrolysates and peptides. These natural antioxidants can be added to human food, pet food, or animal/livestock feed to improve product stability and extend shelf-life, along with the health benefits of providing amino acids and energy after consumption. The left over by-products from the antioxidant production can also be passed on and used as animal feed by itself.

Advantages:

• Easy to implement and relatively inexpensive: small additions to existing biofuel process or as a standalone process
• Natural origin, rather than synthetic, antioxidant derived from processing by-product
• Improves food stability and extends shelf life, reducing food waste
• Improves the overall economic return if integrated into biofuel production processes

Applications:

• Pet food, higher-end
• Animal feed
• Human foodstuffs, including but not limited to high-fat bakery products, ground meat, and oils/fats