Use of commercial protease preparations to reduce protein and lipid content of maize starch

A method was developed to produce pure maize starch from maize flour using a protease processing step, and additional salt washing and sulphite steeping steps. A range of commercial protease enzymes were evaluated for this purpose. The laboratory scale procedure that was developed, using one protease in particular (Promod P25P, thermolysin), produced relatively pure starch (<0.45% protein). Using the same procedure, but applying to starches which had been produced in advance using traditional wet milling, starch protein contents could be reduced further by 25–50% with the lipid content reduced by up to 25%. The amount of starch damage was minimal using this approach (<1%). This procedure could be developed industrially for a ‘greener approach’ to starch extraction – although it may still be necessary to incorporate sulphite steeping stages to facilitate protein solubilisation and extraction.