A chickpea protein isolate (CPI) was pretreated before hydrolysis under a pressure that varied between
100 and 600 MPa. The hydrolysis rate increased significantly with pressure above 300 MPa. At 40 min,
the DH of the control was 15.3%, while the DH of the CPI treated at 300 MPa was 18.5%, w hich reached
23.74% post treatment at 400 MPa. The pretreatment of CPI above 300 MPa enhanced the superoxide
anion capturing rate of enzymatic hydrolysis . Pretreatment at 400 MPa significantly reduced the
hydrolysis time with the release of antioxidant pep tides. While hydrolysis by Alcalase during treatment
at high pressure (100–300 MPa) significantly increased the degree of hydrolysis (DH), its maximum value
peaked after hydrolysis at 200 MPa for 30 min. In addition, hydrolysates obtained at high pressure
(100–300 MPa) had a higher superoxide anion capturing rate. High-pressure treatment at 200 MPa for
20 min resulted in products with high antioxidative activity. The molecular-weight (MW) determination
of the enzymatic hydrolysates indicated that hydrolysis at high pressure could significantly increase the
amount of low-molecular- weight pep tides.