Coconut Press Cake Alkaline Extract—Protein Solubility and Emulsification Properties

The solubility and the emulsification properties of a crude freeze dried alkaline protein extract (APE), 30% protein, obtained from coconut milk press cake by one step extraction at pH 11, were characterized at pH 2 to 11, and the cream and subnatant fractions of the emulsion studied by SDS-PAGE electrophoresis. The protein solubility followed U profile, showing a minimum at pH 3 to 4, close to but not identical to reported iso-electric points of 4 - 5 for many coconut protein fractions. The extract showed good capacity to form oil-in-water emulsion outside the low solubility pH range. The bands that appeared to play a role in the emulsification were found at 32 and 42 kDa in SDS-PAGE electrophoresis, but the most predominant absorbed band was at 23 kDa.