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Protein Extraction from Triticale Distillers Grains

¹Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, 4-10 Ag/For Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2P5. ²Corresponding author. Phone: 780-492-6885. Fax: 780-492-4265. E-mail: jwu3@ualberta.ca

Triticale is being actively explored as a feedstock for bioethanol production in Western Canada. Triticale distillers grains, an important coproduct of the bioethanol industry, are used mainly as animal feed. This study aims to develop methods of protein extraction from triticale distillers wet grains and distillers dried grains with solubles. Osborne fractionation showed low protein extractability because excessive protein denaturation occurred during sample preparation. Five methods were used to extract proteins: pH shifting, 60% ethanol, alkaline-ethanol solution, glacial acetic acid, and enzyme-aided extraction. Extracts obtained with the alkaline-ethanol and glacial acetic acid methods showed comparatively higher protein contents (≈61–65%) when compared with the other extraction methods (≈35–57%). Enzyme-aided extraction with Protex 6L yielded 75–82% protein at a content of 43–57%, depending on the types of raw materials. Establishing methods of protein extraction from triticale distillers grains would facilitate further studies on new uses of triticale proteins.