Production of Casein Hydrolysates from Concentrated Skim Milk Using Ultrafiltration Techniques

Milk protein is often fractionated/concentrated by using various techniques in dairy industries. Among these techniques, ultrafiltration (UF) is particularly efficient at concentrating the casein fraction of milk protein. The objectives of this study were to produce casein hydrolysates by concentrating the casein fraction in skim milk using the UF technique and to investigate the chemical composition of the casein hydrolysates. The skim milk was concentrated using a UF laboratory test unit equipped with 10 kDa and 30 kDa membranes. After UF, the protein content of the milk was concentrated up to ∼7.2% and the Ca was concentrated up to ∼196 mg/100 g of milk. Trypsin was then added to the concentrated skim milk to produce the casein hydrolysates. The results of sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the casein fraction was not present after hydrolysis, indicating that casein in the milk had been hydrolyzed. The Ca content in the casein hydrolysates was much higher (p<0.05) compared to Ca content in commercial casein phosphopeptides (CPP) indicating that was acidified during the manufacture of commercial CPP. In conclusion, it seems that casein hydrolysates containing large concentrations of protein and Ca can also be made from concentrated UF milk without acidification or renneting.