Jatropha curcas is a multipurpose tree, which has potential as an alternative source for biodiesel. All of its parts can also be used for human food, animal feed, fertilizer, fuel and traditional medicine. J. curcas seed cake is a low-value by-product obtained from biodiesel production. The seed cake, however, has a high amount of protein, with the presence of a main toxic compound: phorbol esters as well as anti-nutritional factors: trypsin inhibitors, phytic acid, lectin and saponin. The objective of this work was to detoxify J. curcas seed cake and study the toxin, anti-nutritional factors and also functional properties of the protein isolated from the detoxified seed cake. The yield of protein isolate was approximately 70.9%. The protein isolate was obtained without a detectable level of phorbol esters. The solubility of the protein isolate was maximal at pH 12.0 and minimal at pH 4.0. The water and oil binding capacities of the protein isolate were 1.76 g water/g protein and 1.07 mL oil/g protein, respectively. The foam capacity and stability, including emulsion activity and stability of protein isolate, had higher values in a range of basic pHs, while foam and emulsion stabilities decreased with increasing time. The results suggest that the detoxified J. curcas seed cake has potential to be exploited as a novel source of functional protein for food applications.
Keywords: Jatropha curcas; anti-nutritional factors; functional properties; protein isolate.