Physicochemical, Structural, and Functional Properties of Hemp Protein vs Several Commercially Available Plant and Animal Proteins: A Comparative Study

The physicochemical, structural, and functional properties of hemp seed protein were investigated and compared with soy, pea, whey, and egg proteins. Hemp protein exhibited the lowest total (67.1 g/100 g) and essential amino acid contents (23.1 g/ 100 g) but the highest arginine level (9.17 g/100 g). Hemp protein had a ??-sheet conformation as the predominant secondary structure and demonstrated four major bands located at ???18, ???20, and ???34???36 kDa in an SDS-PAGE profile, corresponding to the basic and acidic subunits of edestin, respectively. The highly compact structure of hemp protein along with a higher surface hydrophobicity (H0) of 750 ?? 104 au and ???SH content of 34.85 ??mol/g may explain the low water absorption capacity (372.41 g/ 100 g) and protein solubility, but a high oil absorption capacity (135.48 g/100 g) and emulsification activity index of 48.40 m2/g are found. Our results support the potential use of hemp protein in various protein-rich food products. However, appropriate processing technologies are needed to modify its structure and functionality.