ABSTRACT
We investigated the extraction of Toona sinensis fruit proteins and preliminarily characterized their physicochemical properties. The results showed that optimal extraction occurred under conditions of pH 10.5, a duration of 40 min, a liquid-to-solid ratio of 25:1, and a temperature of 40°C by an orthogonal design using T. sinensis fruit protein as the index and single factor. The total nitrogen content was 13.8 g/100 g and included 17 different amino acids. The glutamate level was highest at 35.37%, followed by arginine at 15.31%. The isoelectric point of T. sinensis fruit protein was between 6.8 and 10.0 with a typical absorption peak by infrared chromatography. Three protein bands were analyzed using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, with relative molecular weights of 55, 51, and 22 kDa. This study provides a theoretical basis for the comprehensive utilization of T. sinensis fruit by further investigating the biological activity of its proteins.