Effect of drying temperature on nutritional, functional and pasting properties and storage stability of beef lung powder, a prospective protein ingredient for food supplements

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 °C 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 °C (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 °C. While microbiologically safe products were produced at all drying temperatures, BLP-samples dried at 50 °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 °C to semolina dough showed no effect on apparent viscosity, however, addition of 10% BLP dried at 70 and 100 °C decreased (P < 0.05) the viscosity. Drying of beef-lungs at 50 °C resulted in a superior quality product. The results demonstrated the potential of BLP as a prospective and cost-effective ingredient for protein-supplement industry.