Ultrasonic pretreatment improved the antioxidant potential of enzymatic protein hydrolysates from highland barley brewer's spent grain (BSG).

Highland barley brewer's spent grain (BSG), being China's brewing industry's major by-product is the focus of current research. The aim of the present study was to scrutinize the effects of ultrasound and heat pretreatments on enzymatic hydrolysis of highland barley BSG protein hydrolysates (HBSGPH) and evaluate the effect of enzymatic hydrolysis time on the antioxidant activity of hydrolysates by Alcalase. Different ultrasonic waves (40 and 50 kHz) and heat pretreatment temperatures (50 and 100 °C) were chosen and the pretreatment time was 15, 30, and 60 min. The obtained results revealed that the ultrasound pretreatment of highland barley BSG protein at 40 and 50 kHz has significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced about 57 and 67% of oxygen radical absorption capacity of obtained hydrolysate over the untreated substrate. The 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhdrazl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity (DRSA) 28%, metal chelating activity (MCA) 54%, superoxide radical scavenging activity (SRSA) 18%, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity (HRSA) 25% of HBSGPH at 50 kHz were also improved (P < 0.05) significantly. HBSGPH from heat treatment at 100 °C showed no SRSA and HRSA scavenging activities but improved significantly (P < 0.05) about 27% ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay values. In the present work, the resultant HBSGPH had stronger antioxidant properties with ultrasound pretreatment at 50 kHz and the enzymatic hydrolysis after 4 hr was facilitating the enzymatic release of antioxidant peptides from HBSGPH. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Highland barley BSG is attracting toward natural food products due to its potent natural antioxidants to overcome the risk of diseases and are beneficial for human health.