Abstract: In order to offer experimental evidence for its application in food industry, the function properties of perilla seed protein isolate (PSPI) was studied using soybean protein isolates (SPI) as the reference. The nitrogen solubility index (NSI) of PSPI had a trend similar to that of SPI within the pH range of 2-12, but PSPI revealed higher solubility than SPI at isoelectric point. The water holding capacity, foaming capacity, foam stability, emulsifying capacity and gel-forming capacity were lower than those of SPI at pH 7.0. However, the oil-binding capacity of PSPI was close to that of SPI, and the emulsion stability of PSPI was almost equal to that of SPI when the protein concentration was higher than 3 g/100 mL. These results suggested that the PSPI is a potential protein enhancer for food processing.

Key words: perilla, protein isolate, functional properties