Pea proteins with improved flavor, production method and industrial use

Abstract

The present invention relates to pea proteins with improved flavor, to a method for producing these pea proteins involving wet milling, and to the use of these proteins in food or pharmaceutical compositions.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with an application date of September 14, 2018, application number 201880059841.6, and invention name “Pea protein with improved flavor, production method and industrial use”. Technical Field

[0002] The subject of the present invention is pea proteins with improved flavor, a process for their manufacture including wet milling, and the use of these proteins in food or pharmaceutical compositions. Background Art

[0003] The daily protein requirement is between 12% and 20% of the food intake. These proteins are supplied both by products of animal origin (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products) and by plant food products (cereals, legumes, algae).

[0004] However, in industrialized countries, protein intake is mainly in the form of protein of animal origin. However, many studies have shown that excessive consumption of protein of animal origin, to the detriment of plant protein, is one of the reasons for the increase in cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

[0005] Furthermore, animal proteins exhibit numerous disadvantages with regard to their allergenicity, in particular with regard to proteins from milk or eggs, and with regard to environmental problems associated with the damaging effects of intensive agriculture.

[0006] Thus, there is a growing demand from manufacturers for plant-derived proteins that have favorable nutritional and functional properties without exhibiting the disadvantages of animal-derived compounds.

[0007] Since the 1970s, pea has become the most widely developed leguminous seed plant in Europe and mainly in France, in particular as a protein resource for animal feed and also for food consumed by humans. Peas contain about 27% protein matter by weight. The term "pea" is considered here in its broadest sense and specifically includes all wild varieties of "light peas" and all mutant varieties of "light peas" and "wrinkled peas", regardless of the usual use of the variety (food for human consumption, animal nutrition and / or other uses). For many years, pea proteins, mainly pea globulins, have been extracted and used industrially and economically. As an example of a pea protein extraction method, patent EP 1400 537 can be mentioned. In this method, the seeds are ground in the absence of water ("dry grinding" method) to obtain a powder. This powder is then suspended in water to extract protein therefrom.

[0008] Despite its undeniable qualities, protein extracted from peas has an undesirable flavor, such as "beany" or "vegetable" compared to animal proteins. This flavor is an undeniable hindrance in many industrial applications, especially food applications.

[0009] According to numerous studies, it has been clearly demonstrated that one of the main causes of these unwanted flavors comes from the synthesis of aldehydes and / or ketones (particularly hexanal) following the action of internal lipoxygenases on lipids present in pea seeds, in particular during protein extraction. Saponins and 3-alkyl-2-methoxypyrazines are also classes of compounds that produce these unwanted flavors ("Flavor aspects of pulse ingredients", Wibke SURoland, 2017).

[0010] Therefore, those skilled in the art have developed several solutions that make it possible to improve the flavor of commercial pea proteins and restore them to a neutral taste. The first solution is based on masking the flavor by adding chemical compounds selected for this purpose: this solution requires the user to introduce compounds into his formulation that he does not necessarily want to introduce and that may be the source of regulatory and / or allergenic problems. Another solution is described in patents US 4 022 919 and WO 015267, which have taught since the 1970s that treating the pea protein with water vapor enables obtaining proteins with improved flavor. However, this method may be criticized for the risk of modification of the functional qualities of the protein obtained by thermal denaturation (e.g., loss of solubility or increase in its hydration capacity), as well as the need to add necessary purification stages before use. Therefore, these solutions may be effective, but they require the end user of the protein to carry out additional purification operations that are prone to modify the practicality of the pea protein. Therefore, it is very obvious that those skilled in the art seek to directly and simply obtain pea proteins with improved flavor during their extraction process.

[0011] A large number of potential solutions have been explored, including (not exhaustively) selecting pea varieties containing less lipoxygenase, or additionally germinating the peas before extracting the protein. Recently, patent application WO 2017 / 120597 can be mentioned, which describes a method comprising precipitating pea proteins by adding salt, several washing operations and recovery by centrifugation. Despite the complex method using large amounts of water (which can range up to 30 times the amount of peas), the "pea" and "bitter" flavors are still present in the pea proteins (see Figures 18A, 18B and 18C). Since lipoxygenases and saponins are sensitive to temperature, the addition of an additional heat treatment during the extraction stage obviously works, which consists of heating in a humid environment (otherwise indicated as a "bleaching" operation) or dry heating (otherwise indicated as a "baking" operation) possibly combined with a soaking stage. These different solutions are well known in the relevant soybean field. An important problem in the field of peas consists of the preservation of pea starch, which must not be degraded in order to also make it economically usable industrially. Soybeans do not contain starch: therefore, soybean fields can use very high heating temperatures to inhibit lipoxygenase without worrying about starch issues.

[0012] Therefore, the combined use of a heat treatment of tempering and soaking seems to be the most appropriate solution in the field of peas. Mention can be made, for example, of patent application WO 2015071499, which teaches a method comprising soaking with lactic acid bacteria at 40°C. However, these solutions have not yet been satisfactory. This method, which is complex and consumes a lot of water due to lactic acid fermentation, still does not make it possible to obtain pea proteins with a completely neutral flavor (see Table 10, where the smell and / or taste of peas is indicated in each extract).

[0013] It is to be commended that the Applicant Company has conducted research to meet these needs and has developed the present invention.

[0014] A first subject of the present invention is pea protein having a 3-methylbutanal content of greater than 3000 ppb, preferably greater than 4000 ppb, more preferentially greater than 5000 ppb.

[0015] A second subject of the invention is a method for extracting pea protein, comprising the following stages:

[0016] a) treating peas in an aqueous solution having a temperature between 70° C. and 90° C., preferably between 75° C. and 85° C., more preferably 80° C., so as to obtain a water / pea suspension;

[0017] b) thermally treating the suspension obtained during stage a), maintaining the temperature of said suspension for 2 to 4 minutes, preferably for 3 minutes;

[0018] c) cooling the peas of the suspension obtained during stage b), preferably to a temperature below 10° C.;

[0019] d) grinding the peas obtained from stage c) in an aqueous medium so as to obtain an aqueous suspension of milled peas;

[0020] e) Extracting the proteins from the aqueous suspension obtained during stage d).

[0021] A third subject of the present invention is pea proteins obtained by the process according to the invention.

[0022] A fourth subject of the present invention is the use of the pea proteins obtained by the process of the invention in food or pharmaceutical compositions.

[0023] In the present patent application the term "pea" is understood to mean all wild varieties of "smooth-seed pea" as well as all mutant varieties of "smooth-seed pea" and "wrinkled-seed pea".

[0024] In the present patent application the term "water" is understood to mean all types of water that can be used in an industrial environment, in particular in the food processing industry and the pharmaceutical industry. In a non-exhaustive manner demineralized water, drinking water and decarbonated water may be mentioned.

[0025] In the present patent application the term "protein" is understood to mean a macromolecule formed by one or more polypeptide chains consisting of a sequence of amino acid residues linked together by peptide bonds. In the specific context of pea proteins, the invention more specifically relates to globulins (approximately 50%-60% of pea proteins) and albumins (20%-25%). Vicilins are mainly subdivided into three subfamilies: legumin, vicilin and conglobulin.

[0026] In this patent application the term "flavor" should be understood to mean all oral and nasal sensations experienced by a person when consuming a food product. Such flavor can be analyzed and quantified using a trained sensory panel or otherwise by chemical analysis of compounds known to cause these sensations.

[0027] The various subject matters of the present invention will be better understood in the following detailed description of the invention.

[0028] The pea protein that is the subject of the present invention is a pea protein with a specific content of certain chemical compounds. Thus, the pea protein according to the invention exhibits a 3-methylbutanal content greater than 3000 ppb, preferably greater than 4000 ppb, more preferentially greater than 5000 ppb.

[0029] According to a preferred embodiment, the pea protein can additionally exhibit a specific benzaldehyde content. Therefore, the pea protein according to the present invention can specifically exhibit a benzaldehyde content of greater than 60 ppb, preferably greater than 70 ppb.

[0030] The pea proteins according to the invention may contain between 75% and 95% protein by weight relative to the weight of dry matter. The dry matter content of the pea proteins according to the invention may be between 90% and 99.5% by weight relative to the weight of said pea proteins before drying thereof. Any reference determination method for quantifying the protein content well known to a person skilled in the art may be used. Preferably, the total nitrogen (in % / crude product) is determined and the result is multiplied by a factor of 6.25. This well-known method in the field of vegetable proteins is based on the observation that proteins contain on average 16% nitrogen. Any method for determining dry matter well known to a person skilled in the art may also be used.

[0031] The pea protein according to the present invention can be specifically obtained by the method described below.

[0032] The method which is the subject of the present invention is a method for extracting pea proteins.

[0033] The method according to the invention comprises a stage a) of treating peas in an aqueous solution, the temperature of which is between 70°C and 90°C, so as to obtain a water / pea suspension.

[0034] An aqueous solution is to be understood as meaning water which may optionally comprise additives such as in particular antifoaming compounds or bacteriostatic compounds.

[0035] The peas used in stage a) may have previously undergone stages well known to those skilled in the art, such as in particular cleaning (removal of unwanted particles such as stones, dead insects, soil residues, etc.), or even removal of the outer fibers of the peas (outer cellulose husk) by a stage well known as "hulling".

[0036] The amount of peas / aqueous solution in stage a) can be specifically selected so that the aqueous solution covers all peas. Preferentially, the ratio of aqueous solution / peas is between 1 and 2 by weight.

[0037] The temperature of the aqueous solution in stage a) is between 70 and 90° C., preferably between 75 and 85° C., more preferably 80° C. Heating can be carried out using any means well known to those skilled in the art, such as an immersion heat exchanger.

[0038] The pH of the aqueous solution in stage a) can be adjusted to between 8 and 10, preferably to 9. The pH can be adjusted by adding acids and / or bases, such as sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid. The use of buffer solutions is conceivable, although not essential.

[0039] The method according to the invention comprises a stage b of heat treatment of the water / pea suspension obtained in stage a) by maintaining the temperature of the water / pea suspension obtained in stage a) between 70° C. and 90° C. for 2 to 4 minutes, preferably for 3 minutes. The temperature can be maintained using any device well known to a person skilled in the art, such as an immersion heat exchanger.

[0040] The heat treatment of the water / pea suspension is preferably carried out under mechanical stirring, for example by using an electric stirrer or even under recirculation of the aqueous solution using a pump and a recirculation loop.

[0041] The method according to the invention comprises a stage c) of cooling the peas of the water / pea suspension obtained during stage b). This is because, at the end of stage b), the peas can still reach a high temperature that could be harmful to certain temperature-sensitive compounds of interest (in particular starch but also vitamins).

[0042] According to a preferred embodiment, the cooling stage c) is carried out in a new aqueous solution after draining off the aqueous solution used during stages a) and b). Thus, the cooling can be carried out in particular in two stages: firstly, the peas are completely separated from the aqueous solution by any technique known to a person skilled in the art, such as filtration or centrifugation, and then immersed in a volume of a cold aqueous solution, the temperature of which is between 5° C. and 8° C. for a period of time, which makes it possible to reach a target temperature of the peas of up to 10° C. To reduce the temperature, a refrigeration system can optionally be used simultaneously, such as an immersed tube exchanger system. The water / pea suspension thus obtained can be used directly during stage d).

[0043] The target temperature of the peas of 10° C. can be measured specifically with an infrared thermometer or by introducing a probe thermometer inside the peas.

[0044] The alternative mode consists of directly cooling the water / pea suspension using a refrigeration system. The target temperature to be reached by the peas is also a maximum of 10°C.

[0045] The method according to the invention comprises a stage d) of milling the peas from stage c) in an aqueous medium in order to obtain an aqueous suspension of milled peas. The peas can be completely covered with the aqueous solution directly originating from stage c). Alternative modes consist of partially or completely draining off the aqueous solution and subsequently milling the peas during the milling process (for example after the start of the milling) in a discontinuous manner, or continuously during the entire milling duration with the addition of new aqueous solution.

[0046] Milling is performed by any type of suitable technology known to the person skilled in the art, such as a bead mill, a cone mill, a spiral mill or another rotor / rotor system.

[0047] During the milling, water is added continuously or discontinuously so as to obtain, at the end of this phase, an aqueous suspension of milled peas titrated with between 15 and 25% by weight of dry matter (DM), preferentially 20% by weight of DM, relative to the weight of the suspension.

[0048] At the end of milling, the pH can be checked. Preferably, the pH of the aqueous suspension of milled peas at the end of stage d) is adjusted to between 8 and 10; preferentially, the pH is adjusted to 9. The pH correction can be performed by adding acid and / or base, such as sodium hydroxide or hydrochloric acid.

[0049] The method according to the invention comprises a stage e) of extracting the proteins from the aqueous suspension of stage d). The extraction can be carried out by any type of suitable method, such as in particular precipitation of the proteins at isoelectric pH or also thermal coagulation thereof by heating. The aim here is to separate the advantageous pea proteins from the other components of the aqueous suspension of stage d). An example of such a method is presented, for example, in patent EP 1 400 537 of the Applicant Company, from sections 127 to 143.

[0050] The extraction of the protein can be preferably ended by drying using any technique known to those skilled in the art. Freeze drying or even atomization can be mentioned in a non-limiting manner. Preferably, before drying, the pH of the protein is corrected to 7 by adding acid and / or alkali, such as hydrochloric acid or sodium hydroxide.

[0051] Another subject of the present invention is pea proteins obtainable by the extraction method according to the invention. The pea proteins obtained according to the method of the invention advantageously exhibit a neutral flavor.

[0052] The pea proteins obtained with the method of the invention may contain between 75% and 95% protein by weight relative to the weight of dry matter. The dry matter content of the pea proteins obtained by the method of the invention may be between 90% and 99.5% by weight relative to the weight of the pea proteins before they are dried. Any reference determination method well known to those skilled in the art for quantifying protein content may be used. Preferably, the total nitrogen (in % / crude product) is determined and the result is multiplied by a factor of 6.25. This well-known method in the field of vegetable proteins is based on the observation that proteins contain 16% nitrogen on average. Any method for determining dry matter well known to those skilled in the art may also be used.

[0053] To quantify flavors, a first solution consists of utilizing a sensory taste panel. There are several standardized protocols in order to identify and / or quantify the presence and / or absence of certain flavors. One protocol used in the context of the present invention is explained in Example 2.

[0054] The improvement of flavor can also be evaluated by determining compounds known to introduce these undesirable flavors into pea proteins. These compounds can be listed, for example, in a non-exhaustive manner:

[0055] Hexanal;

[0056] Saponin;

[0057] ·3-Alkyl-2-methoxypyrazine;

[0058] 3-Methylbutyraldehyde;

[0059] Benzaldehyde.

[0060] In Example 4 a method is explained which enables the quantification of the content of these various compounds for use in the context of the present invention.

[0061] Another subject of the present invention is the use of the pea proteins obtained by the process according to the invention in food or pharmaceutical compositions.

[0062] This is because, due to its neutral flavor, such pea proteins have certain advantages in many industrial applications, in particular in food processing or the pharmaceutical industry and in animal nutrition.

[0063] A food composition is understood to mean a composition intended for feeding humans or animals. The term food composition includes foods and food supplements. A pharmaceutical composition is understood to mean a composition intended for therapeutic use.

[0064] The following examples enable a better explanation of the present patent application, without however limiting its scope.

[0065] Example 1: Preparation of pea protein according to the present invention

[0066] 0.8 kg of peas are used. First, the outer fibers of the peas are completely separated from the seeds by crushing (mechanical separation of the outer shell from the pea seeds) and removing the epidermis (sorting the outer shell and the pea seeds using compressed air). The peas are placed in a container containing 1.6 liters of demineralized water heated to 80° C. The temperature of 80° C. is maintained for 3 minutes. The peas are separated from the aqueous solution by filtering on a sieve, the mesh size of which is 2 mm. The peas are then placed in a second container containing 1.6 liters of demineralized water, the temperature of which is adjusted to a temperature of 7° C. This cooling is continued until the temperature of the peas is less than or equal to 10° C. The peas are separated from the aqueous solution by filtering on a sieve, the mesh size of which is 2 mm. The peas, which weigh 1.3 kg due to water absorption, are introduced into the chamber of a mill of the Robot Coupe Blixer 4VV type. The milling of the peas is carried out at maximum speed for 1.5 minutes. Then, still while milling at maximum speed, 2.7 liters of demineralized water are added over a period of 3 minutes. Finally, milling is continued for a period of 0.5 minutes. A uniform water / pea milling product titrated with 20% DM is finally obtained. The milling product is centrifuged at 5000g for 5min. The supernatant in which the protein is concentrated is adjusted to pH 5 and then heated at 60°C for 10min to cause protein flocculation. The protein floccules are recovered by centrifugation at 5000g for 5min. The floccules are resuspended in a certain volume of water, which makes it possible to obtain a fluid suspension so that its pH can be corrected to 7 with hydrochloric acid. This floccules are then freeze-dried. Pea protein titrated with 81% protein / DM and 95% DM is obtained. The final product is labeled "Pea protein according to the present invention of Example 1".

[0067] Comparative Example 1: Preparation of pea protein according to prior art WO 2015071499

[0068] 0.8 kg of peas were used. First, the outer fibers of the peas were completely separated from the seeds by crushing (mechanical separation of the outer shell from the pea seeds) and removing the epidermis (sorting the outer shell and pea seeds using compressed air). The peas were then subjected to a 10 8 cfu of Lactobacillus fermentum in drinking water. Fermentation was carried out in a tank containing 400 kg peas / m 3In the closed chamber of 40 ℃ without degassing, in anaerobic mode, until the pH reaches 4.2. The peas are then separated from the fermentation medium by filtration and then rinsed with an equivalent volume of demineralized water. The peas are introduced into the chamber of the mill of Robot Coupe Blixer 4VV type. The milling of the peas is carried out at maximum speed for 1.5 minutes. Then, while still milling at maximum speed, a certain amount of demineralized water is added within a time period of 3 minutes to finally reach about 20% DM. Finally, the time period of 0.5 minutes of milling is continued. A uniform water / pea milling product is obtained. This milling product titrated with about 20% DM is centrifuged at 5000g for 5min. The supernatant in which the protein is concentrated is heated at 75 ℃ for 15sec. The supernatant is then adjusted to pH 4.7 to obtain isoelectric flocculation of the protein. The protein floccules are recovered by centrifugation at 5000g for 5min. The final product was freeze-dried and labeled as "pea protein according to the prior art of Comparative Example 1".

[0069] Comparative Example 2: Preparation of pea protein according to prior art WO 2017120597

[0070] In a stirring container, 90 g of S85F (commercial pea protein isolate) was mixed with 750 g of drinking water. The pH was adjusted to 9 by adding 6N sodium hydroxide, and the mixture was stirred for 5 min. A sufficient amount of 4M CaCl2 was then added to obtain a CaCl2 concentration of 30 mM. The pH was then adjusted to 4.6 with 6N hydrochloric acid. The solution was centrifuged at 2200 g for 5 min. The supernatant was removed and the pellets were washed by introducing an amount of water equivalent to 15 times the weight of the pellets. The solution was centrifuged again at 2200 g for 5 min. The pellets were recovered and then freeze-dried. The final product was labeled "Pea protein according to the prior art of comparative example 2".

[0071] Example 2: Method enabling a sensory panel to differentiate the flavor of pea protein

[0072] The panel consisted of 30 people who were experts in tasting pea protein in water.

[0073] The product was suspended at 5% by weight in a 5% sucrose solution with 0.3% by weight. brand water and homogenize using a hand-held blender.

[0074] They were then presented to the panelists at ambient temperature.

[0075] The tasting conditions are as follows:

[0076] - In the sensory analysis laboratory: separate tasting booths, white walls, calm atmosphere (favorable for concentration);

[0077] - White light (with exactly the same field of view as the product);

[0078] - In the late morning or afternoon (when sensory abilities are at their highest);

[0079] - Products are provided anonymously using a three-digit code (to prevent the code from influencing product ratings);

[0080] - Products were presented in random order (to prevent order and persistence effects).

[0081] The method used to compare the products is Free-Choice Profiling (Williams and Langron, 1984). This is a problem of comparing products with each other by making a series of ratings: the panelists select the descriptors that they think are most relevant to distinguishing the products from each other and rank the products according to these descriptors, as shown in the following table:

[0082]

[0083] The list of descriptors presented to the panelists was as follows:

[0084] Acidic Cooked oatmeal flavor Cardboard smell Citrus fruit flavor Buttery Sour original soup flavor chemical smell Almond flavor Fermented taste bitter Cereal flavor Glue smell Flower scent Cheese flavor Astringency Light Burnt smell Coconut flavor Yeasty Spicy Flour smell Detergent smell Fresh walnut flavor Rancidity Salty Milky metallic taste Apple flavor Grainy / gritty taste Sweetness Pea flavor Paper smell Wet polishing roller smell Potato flavor Soapy Broken dried peas flavor Dust smell Soil smell Vegetable flavor Mashed potato flavor Rice flavor

[0085] Example 3: Summary of comparison of different proteins

[0086] The sensory evaluation was performed using the method described in Example 2 as summarized in the table below.

[0087] The products tested were pea proteins produced according to Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2, and two commercial proteins: S85F and B9.

[0088]

[0089] It was observed that the pea protein obtained by the method of the present invention exhibited a "pea" flavor and a "bitter" flavor, which were much lower than those of the pea protein of the comparative example and the tested commercial pea protein. Therefore, due to the neutral taste of the pea protein of the present invention, it can be advantageously introduced into food or pharmaceutical compositions.

[0090] Example 4: Method for quantifying the content of 3-methylbutyraldehyde and benzaldehyde in pea protein by ITEX GC / MS analysis

[0091] Analysis by in-tube extraction (ITEX) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC / MS) enabled quantification of the content of volatile organic compounds in pea protein.

[0092] First, the extraction of compounds was performed in the following consecutive stages:

[0093] 1. Introduce 0.5 g of pea protein sample to be analyzed and 10 ml of acetone / water (80 / 20) mixture into a 15 ml vial

[0094] 2. Stirring was continued for 30 min at ambient temperature (approximately 20°C-25°C), and then the mixture was separated by settling.

[0095] 3. Recover the supernatant liquid phase by filtering over a 0.45 μm filter in a 10 ml headspace vial

[0096] 4. Evaporate the acetone / water phase to dryness under a stream of nitrogen.

[0097] 5. Close the headspace vial

[0098] The analysis was subsequently performed by ITEX GC / MS.The commercial equipment used was a Bruker Scion SQ 456-GC GC / MS equipped with a CTCCombiPal autosampler with ITEX option.

[0099] The ITEX analysis parameters are as follows:

[0100] Injector temperature 100℃

[0101] Trap temperature 40°C

[0102] Incubation temperature: 100°C

[0103] Stirring speed: 500 rpm

[0104] Extraction volume 1000 μl

[0105] Number of extractions (extraction strokes): 200

[0106] Extraction rate: 1000μl / s

[0107] Pull-up delay 2000ms

[0108] Desorption temperature 300℃

[0109] Desorption rate: 100 μl / s

[0110] Injection rate: 100 μl / s

[0111] Trap cleaning temperature 300°C

[0112] Trap cleaning time 20min

[0113] The GC / MS analysis parameters are as follows:

[0114] Column Vf-Wax 30m*0.25mm; df 0.25μm

[0115] Program T℃: 3min at 50℃, 5℃ / min to 230℃, 20min at 230℃

[0116] Split mode syringe 1:10 250℃

[0117] Helium: 1ml / min

[0118] Finally, integration of the data obtained on the GC / MS chromatogram is carried out by selectively metering in 3-methylbutyraldehyde and benzaldehyde. To do this, standard samples of these products are used and the procedure is carried out according to the general knowledge of a person skilled in the art.

[0119] The results obtained with commercial samples and with samples obtained in the preceding examples of this patent application are presented in the following table:

[0120]

[0121] By correlating the results of the sensory analysis of Example 3 with the results obtained by ITEX GC / MS analysis, it is clear that the sample obtained according to the invention is the only one that exhibits a 3-methylbutyraldehyde content greater than 3000 ppb and a benzaldehyde content greater than 60 ppb.

[0122] Therefore, it is clear that the protein exhibiting high levels of 3-methylbutanal and benzaldehyde has better organoleptic qualities, especially regarding "bitter" and "pea" flavors, compared to the organoleptic qualities of the pea protein of the comparative example and the commercial pea proteins tested.

Claims

1. A pea protein, characterized in that: The 3-methylbutyraldehyde content is greater than 3000 ppb, preferably greater than 4000 ppb, more preferably greater than 5000 ppb.

2. The pea protein according to claim 1, characterized in that The benzaldehyde content is greater than 60ppb, preferably greater than 70ppb.

3. A method for extracting pea protein, the method comprising the following stages: a) treating peas in an aqueous solution having a temperature between 70° C. and 90° C., preferably between 75° C. and 85° C., more preferably 80° C., so as to obtain a water / pea suspension; b) thermally treating the suspension obtained during stage a), maintaining the suspension at a temperature between 70° C. and 90° C. for 2 to 4 minutes, preferably for 3 minutes; c) cooling the peas of the suspension obtained during stage b), preferably to a temperature below 10° C.; d) grinding the peas obtained from stage c) in an aqueous medium so as to obtain an aqueous suspension of milled peas; e) Extracting the proteins from the aqueous suspension obtained during stage d).

4. The method according to claim 3, characterized in that This cooling stage c) is carried out in new aqueous solution after discharge of the aqueous solution used during stages a) and b).

5. The method according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that The pH of the aqueous solution of stage a) is adjusted to between 8 and 10, preferentially to 9.

6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, characterized in that The pH of the aqueous suspension of milled peas at the end of stage d) is adjusted to between 8 and 10, preferentially to 9.

7. A pea protein obtainable by the extraction method according to any one of claims 3 to 6.

8. Use of pea protein as claimed in claims 1 and 2 or obtained by the method as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 6 in food or pharmaceutical compositions.

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