2.1 Materials
Canola meals (CP from Pleasant Valley Oil Mills (Clive, AB, Canada) or
HE from Bunge Canada (Harobe, MB, Canada)) of 150 g were fermented
separately with Aspergillus niger NRRL 334 and Aspergillus
oryzae NRRL 5590 (each at 107 spores/g meal) for
three days (72 h) with moisture maintained at 50% and temperature at
30℃. The strains were obtained from the Agricultural Research Service
(ARS) Culture Collection (Northern Regional Research Laboratory (NRRL),
Peoria, IL, USA). The fermented meals were immediately processed for
protein extraction using the AE-IP and SE methods (as described in the
following sections) to obtain canola protein products. All the reagents
and chemicals used were of analytical grade and obtained from
Sigma-Aldrich Canada Ltd. (Oakville, ON, Canada).