Effects of Microwave Irradiation Pre-Treatment of Egg White Proteins on Ant Oxidative Activity of Their Hydrolysates Prepared with Pepsin

The effects of Conventional Heating (CH) and Microwave Irradiation (MWI) pre-treatment of Egg White Proteins (EWPs) on antioxidative activity of their hydrolysates prepared with pepsin were investigated. MWI pretreatment of EWPs resulted in a higher degree of hydrolysis (DH) and the highest hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (40.67±1.30%), superoxide anion scavenging activity (75.53±2.79%), inhibitory activity of tea oil autoxidation (67.68±2.50%) and reducing power (0.34±0.01) of Egg White Proteins Hydrolysates (EWPHs) in comparison with CH pre-treatment, although there was no significant difference in DPPH radical scavenging activity between the EWPHs originated from the proteins pre-treated by CH and MWI (p>0.05). According to the experimental results, MWI pre-treatment could improve the antioxidant activities of EWPHs compared with CH treatment.