Abstract: The mussel protein from Mytilus eduli was hydrolyzed by neutral protease, alkaline protease, acidic protease, protamex, papain, trypsin and flavourzyme. According to the degree of hydrolysis and sensory evaluation, neutral protease, protamex, papain and flavourzyme were the appropriate exogenous enzymes for the hydrolysis of mussel protein. Meanwhile, the compound enzyme for the hydrolysis of mussel protein was the mixture of protamex and neutral protease at the ratio of 1:1. The optimum hydrolysis conditions of compound enzyme were explored by response surface methodology. The results showed that the optimal hydrolysis conditions were hydrolysis time of 2 h, hydrolysis pH of 7, hydrolysis temperature of 50 ℃, and enzyme addition amount of 0.4%. Under the optimal hydrolysis conditions, the degree of hydrolysis was up to 70.25%. Moreover, the free amino acids in the hydrolysates revealed an increase by 388.46%.

Key words: Mytilus edulis, protease, hydrolysis