*3.1.3.6 Pulse proteins*

Pulse crops are invaluable agricultural commodities that are grown in cool seasons annually. They are grown in many regions around the world such as North America (particularly Canada), Asia, and the Middle East (particularly India and Egypt). They are considered an important source of dietary protein, fiber, essential vitamins, minerals, and carbohydrates. So, they have a health value that relates to decrease of HDL cholesterol, heart disease, and type-2 diabetes. The pulse proteins including lentil, pea, and chickpea proteins which show an attractive alternative to soy proteins because they have a low risk for allergen and non-genetically modified status [113, 114]. Pulse proteins are classified according to their solubility into glutelins (dilute acid and alkaline-soluble and makes up 10–20% of the total pulse protein), globulins (soluble in water-salt solution and accounts for 70% of the total pulse protein), and albumin (water-soluble and represents about 10–20% of the total pulse protein) [113].

## *3.1.3.7 Pea protein*

Pea protein is extracted from pea seeds which represents 18–30% fraction. It is mainly composed of globulins (65–80%) that include three various proteins: legumin, convicilin, and vicilin [115]. Also, it contains albumins and glutelins as two

proteins due to its properties such as clear, tasteless, odorless, and edible properties, making it widely used a protein in different industrial applications [102]. The main composition of zein proteins is amino acids such as glutamic acid, leucine, alanine, and proline that are combined via disulfide bonds. It has four fractions: α, β, and γ as major fractions (accounts for 80% of the total zein protein), while the last one named δ-zein is a minor fraction. α-Zein protein is the main zein type commercially available in the market. It is water-insoluble because of the presence of non-polar amino acids which are previously mentioned but is soluble in the aqueous alcohol (50–95%). Its poor solubility in water due to the absence of essential amino acids including tryptophan and lysine decreased its usage in food products for human consumption, so zein protein nanocarriers have been applied to encapsulate core materials to enhance their distribution in water environment [103, 104]. Prolamine protein as zein protein is a valuable compound used to prepare micro-and nanoscale

*Suggested interactions in two biopolymers components (e.g., protein and polysaccharide) system.*

*Nano- and Microencapsulation - Techniques and Applications*

**Figure 7.**

**74**

systems that are stable in water because these systems do not need a post-

minority fractions. Pea legumin protein (denoted 11S globulin) has molecular weight ranged 350–400 KDa while convicilin and vicilin (denoted 7S globulin) have a molecular weight of about 150 KDa [98]. Pea proteins have interesting emulsifying and gel-forming properties, so they are used alone or in combination with either proteins or polysaccharides. This interaction creates a stable emulsion that improves the efficiency of a micro/nanoencapsulation technique as it gives good particle size distribution. Also, encapsulation occurs without chemical or enzymatic modification, due to the surfactant, foaming, and solubility properties. Besides, they are cheap and highly nutritious [116, 117].

*3.1.4.1 Milk proteins*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95402*

delivery systems [91, 131, 132].

it contains high protein level (≥ 90%)

*3.1.4.2 Whey proteins*

*3.1.4.3 Casein proteins*

**77**

Milk proteins can be divided into two groups: casein and whey proteins which can bind their hydrophilic and hydrophobic moieties with different substances with

Whey proteins are produced from the manufacture of either cheese or casein as the dairy byproduct. They compose of a mixture of β-lactoglubulin, α-lactalbumin, and serum albumin which are water-soluble, so they have a variety of applications [133]. They are considered complete proteins because they have nine essential amino acids, in addition, low in lactose content. The three forms of whey protein are:

• Whey protein concentrate (WPC) which contains low fat and carbohydrate levels. The protein percentage in WPC is ranged between 30% and 90%.

• Whey protein isolate (WPI) which contains zero fat and lactose contents, and

• Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) which has been subjected to partial hydrolysis process. So, it is a predigested form of whey protein.

encapsulation efficiency and stability during storage [134–137].

and nutrients, and form uniform spherical structures [142–144].

Whey proteins are widely used as good wall coating materials in micro- and nanoencapsulation processes for the controlled release of different bioactive materials such as oils/fats, vitamins, and volatile compounds because of the high

Casein is a major amphiphilic milk protein (it makes up about 80% of total milk

protein) which is an essential part of the global daily diet. It has a variety of interesting physicochemical properties such as its availability, low-cost, nontoxicity, high stability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, binding of small and ions molecules, excellent emulsification, and self-assembly that increase its efficacy in both encapsulation and loading efficiency of the loaded bioactive ingredients [130, 138]. Casein protein's composition is 94% protein and 6% low Mwt colloidal calcium phosphate. There are four different casein fractions: αS1-, αS2-, β, and κ-casein which are amphiphilic structures in proportions of 4:1:4:1 by weight, respectively. Mwt is ranged from 19 kDa to 25 kDa [139–141]. Casein micro- and nanoencapsulation carrier systems have attracted attention in recent years for controlled and sustained release delivery of bioactive compounds because of the following advantages: their cheap price, digestibility, good dispersibility in an aqueous system, good amphiphilicity, the capability to encapsulate a variety of drug

various affinities [130]. They are considered a good choice for micro- and nanoencapsulation of bioactive materials as wall materials due to their physicochemical properties. They are available commercial products, they are flexible materials to encapsulate hydrophilic, hydrophobic and viable bioactive compounds, and they are rich bioactive peptide sources of various physiological effects. Also, they have a variety of characteristics including pH-responsiveness, self-assembly, and gel swelling behavior that lead to their use as good candidates for bioactive

*Natural Polymers in Micro- and Nanoencapsulation for Therapeutic and Diagnostic…*
