Evaluation of Catalytic Effects of Chymotrypsin and Cu(2+) for Development of UV-Spectroscopic Method for Gelatin-Source Differentiation

The consumers interest in gelatin authentication is high due to allergic reactions and adoption of Halal and Kosher eating cultures. This research investigated browning development due to enzymatic hydrolysis and presence of Cu(2+) during Maillard reaction of fish, porcine, and bovine gelatin. The rate of browning index samples showed two phases—rapid and slow—for all the gelatin samples and changes in browning index (ΔB(index)) were increased (>100%) in presence of Cu(2+). ΔB(index) of enzymatic hydrolysates were different among the gelatin species. Fish gelatin hydrolyzate displayed > 400% increase in browning in the first six hours compared to gelatin hydrolyzates from porcine (200%) and bovine (140%). The variation in ΔB(index) of chymotrypsin digested gelatin in presence of Cu(2+) could be valuable for the development of an efficient UV-spectroscopic method for gelatin differentiation.