Exploring Swedish pea varieties suitable for protein isolation, focusing on antinutrients and off-flavors

Six different pea (Pisum sativum) varieties and their proteins isolated via wet fractionation were screened to find varieties with outstanding protein functionality but minimum contents of antinutrients and off-flavor volatiles. A broad difference in emulsion activity (44.7–74.2 m2/g) and foaming capacity (163–210%) was detected between the varieties. Variety significantly affected LOX activity in the peas, decreasing significantly (1.6–28.6 times) for all varieties following protein isolation. Variety Eso had the highest hexanal increase ratio (820 times) while variety Balder had the lowest (32 times) with the protein isolation. The total concentration of volatile off-flavors, phytate, and saponin increased during the protein isolation with distinctive degrees for each variety. The content of the antinutrients in the proteins was substantially affected by the variety. Altogether, purpose-specific selection of pea varieties based on their desired potential could result in pea proteins with fewer antinutrients and off-flavors.