Protein Recovery of Tilapia Frame By-Products by pH-Shift Method

The conditions of isolating protein from tilapia frame by-products (TFB) by a pH-shift process were investigated along with their physicochemical and gelling properties. The minimum solubility of TFB protein was observed at pH 5.5 and gradually increased at both acid and alkaline sides. The highest solubility was observed at pH 2 and 12. Protein solubility of TFB increased as the ratio of alkaline extraction medium and extraction time increased. The highest protein extraction was found at the ratio of ground sample to extraction medium of 1 to 9 and extraction time of 15 min. The maximum protein recovery was found at pH 12 with 19.19%. The color of all protein isolate samples obtained from either acid or alkaline extraction was dark brown. Whiteness of a TFB protein isolate extracted at pH 2 was the highest with a value of 14.69. An alkaline pH-shift process effectively removed fat as much as 95%. Breaking force and deformation of recovered protein gel from an alkaline pH-shift were higher than those from the acid counterpart.