Evaluation of the effect of thermal and electrical food processing methods on almond protein structure using molecular modeling and in-vitro digestibility

Almonds (tree nut) have been an essential part of human diet. Regardless of their health benefits, proteins present in almonds are capable of triggering an immune response in the human body termed as allergy. Health Canada lists almond under top priority allergens due to its functionality in human body. As secondary structure of a protein dictates its functionality; in this study, almond milk was subjected to thermal (hot-water bath) and electrical (microwave) treatments at temperatures of 50, 75 and 100°C for 10, 20, 30 minutes and 5, 7 and 10 minutes respectively. The changes in secondary structure of the almond protein were analyzed using ATR-FTIR and its digestibility was assessed using in-vitro protein digestion by different enzymes. Variations in the secondary structures were observed in both thermal and electrical treatments, where temperature and electric field intensity both played a significant role. These variations were further confirmed through molecular modeling.