article · Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Whey protein isolate is often limited in food processing because its functional qualities are sensitive to temperature, pH, and ionic strength. Binding the protein with polysaccharides using the Maillard reaction can improve these functional traits. In this study, whey protein isolate was conjugated with gum acacia through a dry-heating process over varying incubation times ranging from one to seven days. The formation of higher molecular weight conjugates was confirmed, with glycation increasing over time. Conjugation reduced protein surface hydrophobicity and fluorescence intensity, whilst enhancing solubility, heat stability, and emulsification compared to unmodified whey protein isolate. However, extending heating beyond one day caused excessive browning and substantially reduced the functional performance of the conjugates, showing that maximum glycation does not yield the best functional outcome.
Whey proteins are valuable food ingredients, but they easily lose their functional performance under heat and changing processing conditions. Modifying whey protein isolate with gum acacia via controlled dry heating makes it more resilient, offering food manufacturers a method to stabilise ingredients against heat-induced insolubility and improve emulsification without relying on harsh artificial additives.
This research provides applied processing guidance for food ingredient manufacturers looking to improve the stability and emulsifying performance of whey proteins. Food formulators could use these conjugates in products requiring heat stability. Because the work is laboratory-scale testing of functional properties over different incubation periods, it represents early-stage development requiring further pilot validation and scale-up.
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BACKGROUND: The functional properties of whey protein isolate (WPI) are sensitive to pH, ionic strength, and temperature. This prevents its application in various food systems and processing technologies. The conjugation of proteins with polysaccharides via the Maillard reaction is an efficient method to improve the functionality of proteins. The purpose of this work was to conjugate gum acacia (GA) with WPI via the dry-heating Maillard reaction and to investigate the effect of reaction time on the physicochemical and functional properties of WPI-GA conjugates. RESULTS: Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and high-performance size exclusion chromatography confirmed the formation of higher molecular weight conjugates. The degrees of glycation for WPI-GA conjugates incubated for 1, 3, 5, and 7 days were 28.14%, 44.98%, 49.50%, and 51.20%, respectively. The glycation reaction reduced the surface hydrophobicity and fluorescence intensity of WPI significantly (P < 0.05). Functional properties of the conjugates, such as solubility, stability against heat-induced insolubility, and emulsion properties were all superior to the control WPI. However, a reaction time longer than a day resulted in a high degree of browning and decreased the functionality of the conjugate significantly (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that conjugation of WPI with GA can be a promising way to enhance its functional properties. However, the reaction time suitable for producing conjugates with superior functional properties was not necessarily the highest glycation degree that could be reached. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
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DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.9735
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