Protein hydrolysis of pumpkin seed powder by using enzyme and fruit waste treatment

Pumpkin seed (Cucurbita maxima) is an efficient-cost, plentiful agricultural waste that is rich in protein and fibers. Pumpkin seeds’ protein content and amino acid profile are like various high-protein feedstuffs, such as fish meals and soybean meals. Nevertheless, only half of the protein content is being absorbed by the chicken gut. Thus, protein hydrolysis could be done by enzymatic methods to improve the digestibility and growth performance of broiler chickens. In this study, the enzyme of commercial protease, pineapple peel powder, bromelain, and date seed powder was used for pre-treatment to hydrolyze protein in pumpkin seed. The pumpkin seed was treated by these four enzymes to evaluate the percentage of protein hydrolysis with increasing temperature and time incubation. There were three tested temperatures; 30°C, 45°C, and 60°C, and four tested time incubations; Tₒ (0 hours), T₁ (1 hour), T₂ (3 hours), and T₃ (5 hours) using these four types of enzyme. The results show a similar percentage of protein decreased when date seed and bromelain were employed (42%), followed by pineapple peel (33%), and commercial protease (28%). To corroborate this hydrolysis, the selected enzyme-treated pumpkin powder was analyzed by using SDS-PAGE. The result from SDS-PAGE confirmed the reduction of molecular size of pumpkin protein. This finding unlocks the potential of treated pumpkins to become a cost-efficient yet highly-digestible protein source for animal feed in the future.