Abstract
The present study utilized beef-lungs to develop a protein ingredient for affordable human food supplements. Beef-lungs were dried in an air drier at 50, 70 and 100 ? and ground to develop a powder-based intermediate product. All beef-lung powder (BLP) samples dried at different temperatures showed a 300% water-binding capacity. Drying temperature significantly decreased the haem-iron content and protein quality with highest haem-iron content observed for the samples dried at 50 ? (41% of total-iron content). A significant increase in glycine content was observed with increasing drying temperature. SDS-PAGE results showed lowest protein degradation for BLP-samples dried at 50 & DEG;C. While microbiologically safe products were produced at all drying temperatures, BLP-samples dried at 50 & DEG;C showed highest protein-and lipid-oxidative stability. The mean values of all the microbial counts were within acceptable limits beyond six-months of storage. Addition of 10% of BLP dried at 50 ? to semolina dough showed no effect on apparent viscosity, however, addition of 10% BLP dried at 70 and 100 ? decreased (P < 0.05) the viscosity. Drying of beef-lungs at 50 ? resulted in a superior quality product. The results demonstrated the potential of BLP as a prospective and cost-effective ingredient for protein supplement industry.