External AC Electric Field-Induced Conformational Change in Bovine Serum Albumin

An ac electric field (acEF) application technology has been reported as a principle technique for food preservation. With this method, conformational changes in the protein molecules of food materials may be induced. Conformational changes were experimentally examined using bovine serum albumin (BSA) as a model protein using an acEF technology. The amplitude of acEF was 66.7 kV/m. BSA with acEF (ac-BSA) and BSA without the ac field (n-BSA) were trypsinized under the same conditions. The derived peptides were compared by using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns. Formation of tryptic peptides was increased in n-BSA, and trypsin digestion was suppressed in ac-BSA. These results indicate that conformational changes in BSA molecules were induced by acEF application.