Method for obtaining one or more protein preparations and an oil fraction from sunflower seeds or rapeseed seeds

Abstract

In a method for obtaining one or more protein preparations and an oil fraction from sunflower seeds or rapeseeds, at least three fractions are provided or formed from the seeds, wherein a first fraction has a hull content <1 mass percent, a second fraction has a hull content <20 mass percent or <10 mass percent, a second fraction has a hull content greater than the hull content of the first fraction but at least equal to >0.3 mass percent or >0.15 mass percent, and a third fraction has a hull content >60 mass percent or >30 mass percent. Oil is separated from the first fraction by means of one or more de-oiling steps until the residual oil content is <3 mass percent, thereby obtaining one or more oil fractions and an oil-free first fraction as a protein preparation. The method makes it possible to convert all fractions accumulated during the preparation of sunflower seeds or rapeseeds into ingredients of the highest possible quality for food applications, animal feed applications, energy applications or technical applications.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a method for obtaining one or more protein preparations and an oil fraction from sunflower seeds or rapeseed seeds, and to the protein preparations obtained thereby. The fractions provided or formed from the seeds during the method can be used as food ingredients, animal feed, technical auxiliary substances, energy carriers or as feed additives or bedding in animal husbandry. Background Art

[0002] Against the backdrop of decreasing agricultural areas and resources, plant-based protein preparations are becoming increasingly important for human feeding, technological applications and use in animal feed.

[0003] An inexpensive source of protein for food and animal feed is the residue from the pressing and extraction process for obtaining edible oil from sunflower seeds and rapeseed. These seeds are characterized by a hard shell that is mainly dark in color, and an oily pulp. It is possible to separate the shells of these raw materials, but the processes and equipment to do so are very complex, especially in the case of rapeseed.

[0004] Today, the residues of the pressing and extraction processes for recovering oil are mainly used as animal feed. However, despite their high protein content, their use is still limited. This is partly due to the very high shell content in the residues, typically exceeding 25 mass percent, and in some cases may even exceed 50 mass percent. In addition, the level of undesirable impurities is very high, in particular the content of phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, tannins, glucosinolates or phytic acid. The cumulative total amount of these components in the residues may exceed 10 mass percent and significantly impair the color, taste and digestibility of the protein. Therefore, the press cakes and extraction residues obtained in the recovery process of sunflower oil and rapeseed oil are not suitable for making high-quality protein powders for food and animal feed, and because they contain phytochemicals, they are only suitable for feeding certain types of animals and then only used in small quantities.

[0005] According to the prior art, the main purpose of treating sunflower seeds and rapeseed seeds is to obtain a high oil yield. In this case, these seeds are first freed of impurities, then partially conditioned (setting a defined temperature and humidity), then mechanically pre-oiled by pressing (maximum residual oil content of 10 mass percent), and the residual oil content is then extracted from the press cake with hexane. Although the residual oil content in the press cake shortens the storage stability of the residue, it is also possible to carry out a "final pressing" to achieve a residual oil content of about 5 mass percent without subsequent extraction.

[0006] Until now, sunflower seeds and rapeseed seeds have usually not been dehulled or only partially dehulled before pressing. In the case of partial dehulling, more than 50% by mass of the hulls contained in the seeds remain in the raw material before de-oiling, which corresponds on average to a residual hull content before pressing of >12% by mass for sunflower seeds and >8% by mass for rapeseed seeds. According to the prior art, a higher hull content is considered to be necessary, especially for pressing, i.e. final pressing or as initial pressing for partial de-oiling, in order to make it easier for the oil to be discharged from the press and thus increase the throughput through the press.

[0007] In the past few years, attempts have also been made to convert the proteins in the residues of sunflower or rapeseed oil recovery into protein meals or concentrates, making them useful for food applications and high-quality animal feed applications. Several publications describe the production of protein concentrates from rapeseed and sunflower seeds. These protein concentrates are recovered by dry or wet preparation techniques (e.g., using solvents), wherein the protein remains in the residue. However, the use of the residues as animal feed is limited due to the high content of undesirable impurities and the high crude fiber content, and therefore generally has no significant advantages over sunflower extract meal and rapeseed extract meal. Therefore, most of these protein concentrates have a limited range of applications and can only be used in low concentrations in animal feed.

[0008] EP 2885980B1 describes, inter alia, a method for obtaining sunflower protein as a protein-rich food or animal feed. For the production of animal feed, shelled sunflower kernels with a residual shell content of >5 mass percent are used. The seed product is pressed until an oil content of ≥8 mass percent to ≤18 mass percent relative to the dry weight and a protein content of ≥30% to ≤45% is reached. The influence of the lower residual shell content on the digestibility of the protein is not discussed. Furthermore, in this case, it must also be assumed that the high crude fiber content and high chlorogenic acid content of the product may also significantly limit its acceptance and thus its usability as animal feed. On the other hand, it is not disclosed in the document whether this method makes it possible to fully reuse all parts of the seeds.

[0009] WO 2010097238A2 also describes a method for producing a protein preparation from dehulled sunflower seeds. With this method, sunflower seeds are dehulled until the residual shell content is ≤5 mass percent, or dehulled sunflower seeds with a residual shell content of ≤5 mass percent are provided. The dehulled sunflower seeds are mechanically partially deoiled by pressing until the fat or oil content of the dehulled sunflower seeds is in the range of 10 to 35 mass percent. After one or more extraction steps with at least one solvent, a defatted protein-containing powder is obtained as a protein preparation. The protein preparation has very advantageous properties both visually and functionally, which makes it useful in the field of human food and animal feed. Due to the low temperatures of less than 80°C during pressing and less than 90°C during desolventization, the use of this method ensures that good technical functional properties are maintained, a low degree of denaturation occurs, which in turn indicates very good digestibility and bioavailability. However, when this method is used industrially, the low temperatures of less than 90°C used in the process of treating sunflower seeds require very long residence times in the solvent-based process stage, and the process is costly.

[0010] In document EP 2163159 B1, a method is described using oil plants (e.g. from rape, sunflower, flax or Camelina), in which the oil is recovered, at least some of the seed husks are removed from the remaining plant components accumulated during the oil recovery process, and at least some of the protein is recovered. The deproteinized plant components are at least partially processed to recover energy therefrom, in particular to generate electrical energy and / or usable heat. This allows the portion of the oilseed in the form of protein to be used entirely for food applications and animal feed applications, while the carbohydrate-rich portion from which the protein has been removed serves as an energy carrier.

[0011] The object of the present invention is to provide a method for recovering one or more protein preparations and oil fractions from sunflower seeds or rapeseeds, wherein all fractions accumulated during the preparation of sunflower seeds or rapeseeds can be converted into ingredients of the highest possible quality for food applications, animal feed applications, energy applications and technical applications. Summary of the invention

[0012] The object is solved by the method according to claims 1 and 2. Claims 15 and 16 describe the protein preparation obtained by the method. Advantageous variants and further developments of the method are subject matter of the dependent claims or can be seen from the following description and the exemplary embodiments.

[0013] Using the method according to the invention, the seeds of sunflower or rapeseed are first dehulled, and then the kernels are dehulled and separated by sieving, winnowing and sorting, so that at least three fractions with the husk fractions shown below are obtained, or fractions of sunflower seeds or rapeseed seeds that already have these husk contents are provided. According to the invention, the following steps are performed in the method.

[0014] In the case of sunflower seeds

[0015] - isolating or providing a first part, the shell content of which is less than 1 mass %, advantageously less than 0.5 mass %, particularly advantageously less than 0.1 mass %,

[0016] wherein the first portion is further processed to produce a first protein preparation by at least partially separating the oil until a residual oil content of <3 mass percent, advantageously <2 mass percent, is reached, while obtaining one or more oil fractions, and

[0017] - obtaining or providing a second part, whose shell content is greater than the shell content of the first part, but in any case at least greater than 0.3 mass percent, advantageously greater than 1 mass percent, particularly advantageously greater than 5 mass percent, but less than 20 mass percent, advantageously less than 10 mass percent,

[0018] wherein the oil is separated from the second fraction, thereby obtaining one or more further oil fractions, and in an advantageous variant, the second protein preparation is recovered by at least partial separation of the oil until a residual oil content of less than 10 mass percent, advantageously less than 3 mass percent, is reached, and

[0019] - separating or providing a third fraction, also referred to below as the shell fraction, whose shell content is greater than 60 mass percent, advantageously greater than 80 mass percent and less than 99 mass percent, advantageously less than 90 mass percent.

[0020] In the case of rapeseed

[0021] - isolating or providing a first part, the shell content of which is less than 1 mass %, advantageously less than 0.5 mass %, particularly advantageously less than 0.1 mass %,

[0022] wherein the first portion is further processed to produce a first protein preparation by at least partially separating the oil until a residual oil content of <3 mass percent, advantageously <2 mass percent, is reached, while obtaining one or more oil fractions, and

[0023] - obtaining or providing a second part, whose shell content is greater than the shell content of the first part, but in any case at least greater than 0.15 mass percent, advantageously greater than 0.5 mass percent, particularly advantageously greater than 2.5 mass percent, but less than 10 mass percent, advantageously less than 5 mass percent,

[0024] wherein the oil is separated from the second fraction, thereby obtaining one or more further oil fractions, and in an advantageous variant, the second protein preparation is recovered by at least partial separation of the oil until a residual oil content of less than 10 mass percent, advantageously less than 3 mass percent, is reached, and

[0025] - separating or providing a third fraction, also referred to below as the shell fraction, whose shell content is greater than 30 mass percent, advantageously greater than 60 mass percent and less than 99 mass percent, advantageously less than 90 mass percent.

[0026] Advantageously, for sunflower seeds and rapeseed seeds, a further fraction is obtained or provided which also contains protein from the kernel of the sunflower seeds or rapeseed seeds and from which oil and a protein-containing residue can be recovered whose protein content is greater than that of the shell.

[0027] Surprisingly, by such a process organization based on providing and / or forming a plurality of fractions with the indicated shell contents, the average energy that must be consumed to obtain one kilogram of shelled kernels can be significantly reduced. In this case, the specific energy requirement is compared with the energy consumption required to produce or provide only one fraction, wherein one fraction has in total the same mass as two or more fractions according to the invention and contains on average the same percentage of shells as the fraction according to the invention. By eliminating a plurality of fractions with different shell contents, in some cases it is even possible to completely dispense with the need to pass a fraction through the shelling and sorting unit several times, since the correspondingly higher shell content is also suitable for direct use and therefore does not require further processing.

[0028] The method for distributing the fractions according to the invention can convert all the accumulated fractions into ingredients for food, animal feed, energy or technical applications. In particular the provision or formation of the first fraction results in a high quality protein preparation for food.

[0029] It is also found that the described fractionation can successfully recover vegetable oils with different characteristics from the input stream in a simple manner. Through appropriate process management, in particular by reducing the shell content in the first part to less than 0.1 mass percent and possibly reducing the shell content in the second part to a value below 1 mass percent, it is possible to achieve that one or more oil parts can be used directly without further treatment (e.g., refining), while the other parts should be further treated. Therefore, there are sometimes considerable differences in their composition and their taste and color between the oils from the first part, the second part and any possible other parts. In the case of sunflower seeds and rapeseed, there are also significant differences in the content of phytochemicals with taste activity such as tannins between the oils from the first part and the second part. Therefore, these oils for different applications can be used directly on various markets for different applications in a targeted manner after simple filtration or after further preparation steps (e.g., refining or mixing with other parts).

[0030] For example, the oil recovered from the first fraction of sunflower seeds is characterized by the fact that it contains no cuticular waxes, or only trace amounts of waxes, and has a mild nutty flavor. In contrast, the oils from the second fraction have a greater wax content, they taste slightly bitter and are slightly darker in color. Therefore, this fraction will be used for technical applications in an unrefined condition or only for human food after a complete refining process including wintering, degumming, deacidification, bleaching and deodorization.

[0031] Thus, surprisingly, the fractionation of sunflower seeds and rapeseed according to the invention makes it possible to reduce the amount of oil that must be refined. This saves energy and saves the use of chemicals that are essential for deacidification or deodorization of oil according to the prior art. In addition, the oil losses that inevitably accompany each step of the conventional oil refining process are reduced. On the basis of the invention, the vegetable oil manufacturing process is more efficiently organized in terms of resources and energy per kilogram of input material compared to the methods according to the prior art, in particular a higher oil yield is achieved.

[0032] Using the fractionation process according to the invention, it is possible to easily produce or provide the various fractions in variable quantities, depending on market demand or raw material properties, so that a particularly efficient operation with regard to availability and resource utilization can also be achieved with the method. In pilot experiments, it was found that the first fraction should advantageously contain 1 to 80% of the amount of kernels supplied to the entire process via the starting material, this content advantageously being between 5 and 35%, particularly advantageously between 15 and 25%. The use of said proportions of kernels in the highly purified first fraction makes particularly simple and inexpensive operation possible, and a considerable proportion of the oil can be used without treatment and does not have to be refined.

[0033] The protein preparation recovered from the first fraction of rapeseed seeds should be further processed, taking as much care as possible to preserve its high functionality and good organoleptic properties for use in human food.

[0034] Thus, for example, the shell content in the first part should be <1 mass percent, particularly advantageously <0.1 mass percent, and in an advantageous variant, the kernel should be pressed or mechanically deoiled until an oil content of >10 mass percent to <30 mass percent, advantageously between 10 and 20 mass percent, is reached, wherein the average temperature of the first part during the duration of the pressing process is below 80° C., advantageously below 60° C. In the subsequent solvent treatment with an organic solvent, for example hexane, supercritical CO 2 or ethanol, further oil consumption occurs until the residual oil content has a value of less than 3 mass percent, advantageously less than 2 mass percent.

[0035] The protein preparation from rapeseed obtained in this treatment of the first part is highly functional and then has the following properties: its protein content is less than 90 mass percent, advantageously <70 mass percent, relative to dry weight (TS); it has a lightness L* of >70, advantageously >80, as determined by the CIE-L*a*b* colorimetric method; and has at least water-binding, oil-binding and emulsifying functions. In this case, the water-binding capacity of the preparation is >1 ml / gram TS, preferably >2 ml / gram TS, particularly preferably >3 ml / gram TS. The oil-binding capacity is >0.5 ml / g TS, preferably >1 ml / g TS, and the emulsifying capacity is >300 ml / g TS, preferably >500 ml / g TS, particularly preferably >600 ml / g TS. The protein solubility in the preparation is greater than 30%, particularly preferably greater than 60%.

[0036] The protein preparation recovered from the first part of the sunflower seeds should also be further processed, taking as much care as possible to preserve its high functionality and good organoleptic properties for further use.

[0037] Thus, for example, the shell content in the kernel fraction should be <1 mass percent, particularly advantageously <0.1 mass percent, and in an advantageous variant, the kernel should be pressed or mechanically deoiled until an oil content of >10 mass percent to <30 mass percent, advantageously between 10 and 20 mass percent, is reached, wherein the average temperature of the first fraction during the duration of the pressing process is below 80° C., advantageously below 60° C. In the subsequent solvent treatment with an organic solvent, such as hexane, supercritical CO 2 or ethanol, further oil consumption occurs until the residual oil content has a value of less than 3 mass percent, advantageously less than 2 mass percent.

[0038] According to the invention, the protein preparation from sunflower seeds obtained in this treatment has the following characteristics: its protein content is less than 90 mass percent, advantageously <80 mass percent, particularly advantageously less than 70 mass percent, relative to dry weight (TS); it has a lightness L* of at least 70, advantageously >80, as determined by the CIE-L*a*b* colorimetric method; and it has at least water-binding, oil-binding and emulsifying functions. In this case, the water-binding capacity of the preparation is >1 ml / gram TS, preferably >2 ml / gram TS. The oil-binding capacity is >0.5 ml / g TS, preferably >1 ml / g TS, and the emulsifying capacity is >300 ml / g TS, preferably >400 ml / g TS, particularly preferably >500 ml / g TS. The protein solubility in the preparation is greater than 25%, particularly preferably greater than 40%.

[0039] Using the method according to the invention, in addition to the first and second parts, sunflower kernels can also produce an additional part, which is also practically shell-free, but can be used not for the production of oil and protein, but for direct consumption. This additional part is advantageously formed from a very high proportion of visually attractive, unbroken kernels. This proportion is advantageously equal to or greater than 70% of the mass of the kernels in this part, particularly advantageously greater than 90% of the mass of the kernels in this part. For the first part, there is no limit to the proportion of broken kernels, because for pressed kernels, a high proportion of broken kernels of >30% is more advantageous, because the broken kernels during pressing have a greater resistance to the screw conveying, which can simplify the pressing process. Therefore, for sunflower seeds and rape seeds, the proportion of broken kernels in the first part will advantageously be greater than 50%, particularly advantageously greater than 70%. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] In the following, the proposed method will be explained again in more detail with reference to exemplary embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0041] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration of a method for preparing sunflower seeds; and

[0042] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration of a method for preparing rapeseed seeds. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] Example 1:

[0044] In this example, if Figure 1 Schematically, three fractions are recovered using an impact sheller followed by multiple sieving, winnowing and sorting cycles of sunflower seeds that have been freed from contaminants as much as possible:

[0045] -25 mass % of an ultrapure first fraction, hereinafter referred to as the kernel fraction (1), having a shell content of <0.1 mass %,

[0046] -20 mass percent of the second part, hereinafter referred to as the kernel part (2), having a shell content of 10 mass percent,

[0047] -10 mass percent of a third portion, hereinafter referred to as the kernel portion (3), having a shell content of 30 mass percent, and

[0048] -30 mass percent of the shell portion, the shell content of which is 80 mass percent.

[0049] The kernel part (1) is pressed at moderate temperature (<60°C) until a residual oil content of 18% by mass is reached. The oil obtained after filtration is a very mild, nutty edible oil with a light yellow color, which can be used as an edible oil after separation of particles causing turbidity.

[0050] The press cake was deoiled with hexane and desolventized at low temperatures below 80° C. The solid material was then ground in a laboratory grinder to analytical fineness (particle size mainly <100 μm) and evaluated for color and functional properties.

[0051] The protein powder thus obtained as the first protein component (1P) has a protein content of 59% (coefficient 6.25) relative to TS, a residual oil proportion of 2%, and exhibits a lightness value L* of 85 according to CIEL*a*b*. It has a neutral, slightly nutty taste. The protein of this preparation is 40% soluble at pH 7 and exhibits an emulsifying capacity of 480 ml per gram of protein. Therefore, as a highly functional food additive, this fraction can obviously be used in many applications with strict requirements.

[0052] The kernel part (2) is pressed at 90°C until an oil content of 10 mass percent is reached. After filtration, the obtained oil has a slightly bitter taste and a slightly yellowish turbid appearance. It can be further processed in a refining process to produce edible oil.

[0053] The press cake from this pressing was also deoiled with hexane and desolventized in a drying oven at a temperature of 110° C. The solid material was then ground in a laboratory grinder to analytical fineness (particle size predominantly <100 μm) and evaluated for color and functional properties.

[0054] The protein powder thus obtained as the second protein preparation (2P) had a protein content of 54% (coefficient 6.25) relative to TS, a residual fat content of 1.8% and exhibited a lightness value L* of 68 according to CIE L*a*b*. It had a slightly bitter taste, leaving a rough feeling in the mouth. The protein in the powder was 25% soluble at pH 7 and exhibited an emulsifying capacity of 320 ml per gram. It is therefore not suitable for use as an ingredient in human food, but can certainly be used in high-standard animal feed applications, such as fish food or pet food.

[0055] The kernel portion (3) is also processed similarly to the kernel portion (2). Due to the high shell content, the oil is still darker in color and slightly more bitter, so this portion must be refined.

[0056] The protein powder thus obtained as the third protein component (3P) has a protein content of 39% (coefficient 6.25) relative to TS, a residual fat fraction of 1.7% and exhibits a lightness value L* of 40 according to CIE L*a*b*. It has a bitter taste and causes a very rough feeling in the mouth. The protein in this powder is 25% soluble at pH 7 and exhibits an emulsifying capacity of 250 ml per gram. Therefore, this portion is only suitable for simple animal feed applications, for example for cattle.

[0057] The husk fraction thus obtained consisted mainly (about 80%) of husks with some residual kernel pulp and was not further examined; the oil fraction recovered after de-oiling with hexane was also not further analyzed.

[0058] Example 2:

[0059] In this example, if Figure 2 Schematically, three fractions are recovered using an impact sheller followed by multiple sieving, winnowing and visual and manual sorting cycles of the rapeseed, which has been freed from contaminants as much as possible:

[0060] -35 mass % of an ultrapure first fraction, hereinafter referred to as the kernel fraction (1), having a shell content of <1 mass %,

[0061] -30 mass percent of the second part, hereinafter referred to as the kernel part (2), having a shell content of 8 mass percent,

[0062] -20 mass percent of a third portion, hereinafter referred to as the kernel portion (3), having a shell content of 20 mass percent, and

[0063] -15 mass percent of the shell portion, the shell content of which is 60 mass percent.

[0064] The kernel part (1) is pressed at moderate temperature (<60°C) until a residual oil content of 22 mass % is reached. After filtration, the oil obtained is a very mild tasting clear edible oil, yellow in color, with a slight mustard flavor.

[0065] The press cake was deoiled with ethanol and desolventized at low temperatures below 90° C. The solid material was then ground in a laboratory grinder to analytical fineness (particle size mainly <100 μm) and evaluated for color, sensory impression and functional properties.

[0066] The protein powder thus obtained as the first protein preparation (1P) had a protein content of 58% (coefficient 6.25) relative to TS, a residual fat ratio of 1.8%, and exhibited a lightness value L* of 80 according to CIE L*a*b*. It had a neutral, slightly tangy taste with a light mustard flavor. The protein of this preparation was 55% soluble at pH 7 and exhibited an emulsifying capacity of 610 ml per gram of protein. Therefore, as a highly functional food additive, this portion can be used in many spicy applications.

[0067] The kernel part (2) is pressed at 90°C until an oil content of 12 mass percent is reached. After filtration, the resulting oil has a slightly bitter taste and a slightly turbid yellow appearance. It can be further processed in a refining process to produce edible oil.

[0068] The press cake from this pressing was deoiled with hexane and desolventized in a drying oven at a temperature of 110° C. The protein was then ground to analytical fineness (particle size predominantly <100 μm) in a laboratory grinder and evaluated for color and functional properties.

[0069] The protein powder thus obtained as the second protein preparation (2P) has a protein content of 51% (coefficient 6.25) relative to TS, a residual fat content of 2% and presents a lightness value L* of 65 according to CIE L*a*b*. It has a slightly bitter taste, leaving a rough feeling in the mouth. The protein in this powder is 25% soluble at pH 7 and presents an emulsifying capacity of 370 ml per gram. Therefore, this fraction is not suitable for use as an ingredient in human food, but can certainly be used in animal feed applications, such as poultry feed.

[0070] The kernel portion (3) is also processed similarly to the kernel portion (2). Due to the high husk content and harsh processing conditions, the oil is still darker in color and has a slightly bitter taste.

[0071] The protein powder thus obtained as the third protein preparation (3P) has a protein content of 37% (factor 6.25) relative to TS, a residual fat fraction of 1.8% and exhibits a lightness value L* of 35 according to CIE L*a*b*. It has a bitter taste and causes a very rough feeling in the mouth. The protein in this powder is 25% soluble at pH 7 and exhibits an emulsifying capacity of 250 ml per gram. Therefore, this portion is only suitable for simple animal feed applications, for example for cattle.

[0072] The hull fraction obtained consisted mainly (about 60%) of rapeseed hulls with some residual kernel pulp. As with the sunflower hull fraction, no further examination was performed; nor was the oil fraction recovered after solvent de-oiling.

[0073] In this patent application, the following determination procedure is used for the quantitative determination of the declared properties and values:

[0074] -Protein content:

[0075] The protein content is defined as the content calculated from the nitrogen determination multiplied by a factor of 6.25. The protein content is expressed, for example, as a percentage relative to dry weight (TS).

[0076] -color:

[0077] The perceived color is determined using the CIE-L*a*b* colorimetry (see DIN 6417). In this case, the L* axis represents lightness, with black having a value of 0 and white having a value of 100, the a* axis describes the green or red component, and the b* axis describes the blue or yellow component.

[0078] -Protein solubility:

[0079] Protein solubility was determined using a method according to Morr et al. 1985 (see journal article: Morr CV, German B, Kinsella JE, Regenstein JM, Van Buren JP, Kilara A., Lewis BA, Mangino ME, "A Collaborative Study to Develop a Standardized Food Protein Solubility Procedure. Journal of Food Science", Vol. 50 (1985) pp. 1715-1718). The protein preparation was suspended in a 0.1 M NaCl solution at room temperature at a mass volume percentage of 1:25 to 1:50 (w / v) (i.e., 1-2 g of protein preparation corresponds to 50 ml of solution), maintained at pH 7 for about 60 minutes using a 0:1 M HCl solution or a NaOH solution, and stirred at a speed of about 200 rpm, and then the insoluble precipitate was centrifuged at 20,000 times the earth's acceleration (20,000 g) for 15 minutes. Protein solubility may be expressed as a percentage, for example, where a protein solubility of x% means that, when the method is used, x% of the protein present in the formulation will be present in the clear supernatant.

[0080] - Water Binding:

[0081] The water binding capacity is determined by the AACC assay procedure as defined in American Association of Cereal Chemists, "Approved methods of the AACC", 10th ed., AACC. St. Paul, MN, 2000b; Method 56-20. "Hydration capacity of pregelatinized cereal products". The water binding capacity can be expressed, for example, in ml / g, i.e., milliliters of bound water per gram of preparation, according to the AACC assay procedure, by subtracting the weight of the dry preparation from the weight of the precipitate saturated with water after mixing about 2 g of the protein preparation with about 40 ml of water for 10 minutes and centrifuging at 1000 g for 15 minutes at 20°C.

[0082] -Oil Binding:

[0083] The oil binding capacity was determined using the assay described in Ludwig I., Ludwig, E., Pingel B., "Eine Mikromethode zur Bestimmung der [A micromethod for determining fat-binding capacity]".Nahrung / Food,1989,33(1),99.

[0084] The oil binding capacity can be expressed, for example, in ml / g, i.e. milliliters of bound oil per gram of preparation, and is determined as the volume of the oil-bound precipitate after mixing 1.5 g of the protein preparation with 15 ml of corn germ oil for 1 minute and centrifuging at 700 g for 15 minutes at 20°C according to the above-mentioned determination procedure.

[0085] -Emulsification ability:

[0086] The emulsifying capacity is determined by the "conductivity measurement method" where 100 ml corn germ oil at pH 7 is added to a 1% suspension of the protein formulation until the phase inversion of the oil-in-water emulsion. The emulsifying capacity is defined as the maximum oil absorption capacity of the suspension determined based on the spontaneous decrease in conductivity upon phase inversion (see A., Müller, K., Knauf, U., journal article "New processing of lupin protein isolates and functional properties". Nahrung / Food, 2001, 45, 393-395), and can be expressed, for example, in ml oil / g, i.e. ml of emulsified oil per gram of protein preparation.

[0087] -Residual oil content:

[0088] The residual oil content was determined using the Soxhlet method AOAC 963.15, ie gravimetrically after Soxhlet extraction.

Claims

1. A method for obtaining at least one protein preparation and a plurality of oil fractions from sunflower seeds, the method comprising at least the following steps: - at least three parts are provided or formed by the seed, wherein - the first part has a shell content < 1 mass percent, - the second part has a shell content <20 mass percent, greater than the shell content of the first part, but at least >0.3 mass percent, and -- the third part has a shell content of > 60 mass percent, - separating the oil from the first part by one or more de-oiling steps until the residual oil content is <3 mass %, thereby obtaining one or more oil fractions and the oil-free first part as the first protein preparation, and - separating the oil from the second fraction, thereby obtaining one or more further oil fractions.

2. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that Forming the at least three parts comprises the following steps: - Shelling the seeds, and - removing a portion of the shells by sieving and / or winnowing and / or sorting, such that at least three fractions having said shell contents are obtained.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that One or more further fractions containing protein from the kernel of a sunflower seed are provided or formed, and oil and a residue containing protein are recovered from the further fractions, each of the further fractions having a protein content greater than the protein content of the shell.

4. The method according to claim 1 or 2, It is characterized in that The separation of oil from the first fraction is performed by mechanical partial deoiling of the first fraction to obtain a first oil fraction and a first residue fraction, and subsequently performing one or more solvent extractions from the first residue fraction.

5. The method according to claim 4, It is characterized in that The mechanical partial deoiling is carried out at an average temperature of the first part below 80° C. for a duration of the mechanical partial deoiling to achieve an oil content of >10 mass percent and <30 mass percent.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2 and 5, It is characterized in that Providing or forming at least three fractions from the seeds is performed in such a way that the first fraction contains 1 to 80% of the number of kernels present in the starting material of the method.

7. The method according to claim 6, The first portion contains 5 to 35% of the amount of kernels present in the starting material of the process.

8. The method according to claim 6, The first portion contains 15 to 25% of the amount of kernels present in the starting material of the process.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, 5, 7-8, It is characterized in that Providing or forming at least three fractions from the seeds is performed in such a way that in the case of sunflower seeds, the third fraction has a hull content of >80 mass percent and <99 mass percent.

10. The method according to claim 9, It is characterized in that In the case of sunflower seeds, the third portion has a hull content of < 90 mass percent.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, 5, 7-8, 10, It is characterized in that Providing or forming at least three parts from the seeds is performed in such a way that the first part has a hull content of <0.5 mass percent.

12. The method according to claim 11, It is characterized in that The first part has a shell content of <0.1 mass percent.

13. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, 5, 7-8, 10, 12, It is characterized in that Providing or forming at least three fractions from the seeds is performed in such a way that in the case of sunflower seeds, the second fraction has a hull content of <10 mass percent.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1-2, 5, 7-8, 10, 12, It is characterized in that The separation of the oil from the first portion is carried out by one or more de-oiling steps until a residual oil content of <2 mass % is reached.

15. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that By means of the one or more de-oiling steps, oil is separated from the second portion until a residual oil content of <10 mass percent is reached, thereby obtaining one or more additional oil portions and an oil-free second portion as a second protein preparation.

16. The method according to claim 1, It is characterized in that By means of the one or more de-oiling steps, oil is separated from the second portion until a residual oil content of <3 mass percent is reached, thereby obtaining one or more additional oil portions and an oil-free second portion as a second protein preparation.

17. The method according to claim 15 or 16, It is characterized in that The separation of oil from the second portion is performed by mechanical partial deoiling of the second portion.

18. The method according to claim 15 or 16, It is characterized in that The separation of oil from the second fraction is performed by mechanical partial deoiling of the second fraction to obtain a second oil fraction and a second residue fraction, followed by one or more solvent extractions of the second residue fraction.

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