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WHAT IS A PROTEIN?
Proteins are organic compounds present in both animal and vegetal organisms and are made up of long chains of amino acids linked together by amide bonds, called peptide bonds, that form between the amine and carboxyl group of the amino acids with the release of a molecule of water:
Amino acids differ from each other in the presence of a specific side chain that can have a nonpolar, polar, acid or basic nature and gives every single amino acids particular chemical properties.
Proteins differ from each other in the different presence, frequency and sequence in which the various amino acids can link together; the side chains can form bonds with each other making the polypeptide chain assume a particular spatial conformation or can associate with other side chains of another polypeptide chain. The spatial structural characteristics of the proteins amino acids chains and also of the respective hydrolysates in general depend on the physicochemical conditions of the aqueous solution in which they are (pH, presence of ions, temperature, concentration, presence of certain organic compounds) and a variation of the equilibrium conditions can easily denature them (e.g. loss of solubility).
Proteins solubility is mainly influenced by the molecular weight: at the same physicochemical conditions generally the decrease of the molecular weight causes an increase of protein solubility.
WHAT IS A NATIVE AND A HYDROLYZED PROTEIN?
For native proteins we mean proteins isolated from vegetal or animal sources that maintain their original molecular weight and chemical characteristics of the amino acids. Hydrolysed proteins derive from native proteins and are composed of peptides with a lower molecular weight but a higher solubility.
The hydrolysis of proteins can be carried out by adding strong basic or acid substances or via enzymatic means; chemical hydrolysis can be mild or strong and causes destruction of the amino acids chains, denaturation of some amino acids side chains and destruction of some amino acids. Enzymatic hydrolysis makes use of specific proteases capable of breaking up the amino acids chains in specific sites; this kind of hydrolysis doesn’t cause amino acids side chains denaturation and amino acids destruction.
Therefore we can refer to a protein hydrolysate ONLY as amino acids chains with different molecular weight that can be in aqueous solution or in a powder form; on the market there may be found substances formed by molecules of proteinic origin condensed with other molecules such as of cationic nature or fatty acids chains. This kind of substances are obtained through synthesis processes and form surfactant molecules with loss of the peculiarity of proteins from which they originate.