Patent ID: 7771762

Claim:
A method for preparing highly functional soy proteins, said method comprising (1) preparing a basic aqueous mixture of a soy material containing soy proteins, the basic aqueous mixture having a pH of about 8 to about 10; (2) optionally removing insoluble materials from the basic aqueous mixture; (3) passing the basic aqueous mixture through an ultrafiltration membrane having a molecular weight cutoff in the range of about 1,000 to about 50,000 Daltons while maintaining the pH of the basic aqueous solution at about 8 to about 10 during ultrafiltration, thereby removing soluble carbohydrates and low molecular weight materials; (4) adjusting the pH of the basic aqueous mixture to a level sufficient to allow an enzyme or mixture of enzymes having endoprotease and exopeptidase activities to solubilize the soy proteins; (5) solubilizing the soy proteins by treating the pH-adjusted aqueous mixture with the enzyme or mixture of enzymes having endoprotease and exopeptidase activities for a time sufficient to form the highly functional soy proteins; (6) inactivating the enzyme or mixture of enzymes; and (7) recovering the highly functional soy proteins.