MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION OF NUTRITIONALLY ENRICHED SOY WHEY GENERATION

ABSTRACTThe present investigation deals with the modeling and optimization of acid curdling of soymilk for soy whey preparation focusing on maximization of protein and polyphenol content as well as yield of soy whey. The findings, in this first report on fruit acid (citric acid and tartaric acid)‐based curdling, reveal a better alternative to the salt (calcium sulphate) curdling, extensively practiced in industries, in terms of nutritional enrichment. Reasonably accurate neural network models (regression coefficient ranging from 0.96 to 0.97) using citric acid and tartaric acids as mild fruit acids and trichloroacetic acid as standard protein coagulant was obtained based on the experimental data. The optimized set of process conditions was predicted through genetic algorithm and the effectiveness of the artificial neural network genetic algorithm model, validated through experiments, was indicated by significant correlations (regression coefficient ranging from 0.89 to 0.92) and nominal mean square error (0.000071–0.01).PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe work aims at devising a methodology for fruit acid‐based curdling of soymilk for nutritionally enriched soy whey generation. This opens up a new dimension for valorized utilization of soy whey, a potent pollutant, for formulation of functional foods as it is an excellent source of proteins with balanced amino acid profile and polyphenols. Moreover organic acid curdled soy whey, owing to its oligosaccharide content, can be utilized as a medium for probiotic fermentation for development of synbiotic supplements. The fruit acids used (citric acid and tartaric acid) can be obtained from common fruits abundantlyavailable, and hence, can economize the curdling process in industrial settings simultaneously adding to the nutritional profile.