Abstract
Chitosan is a biopolymer that can be used in food applications such as forming edible coatings and nanoparticles. It is a linear polysaccharide composed of neutral (acetylated) and positively (deacetylated) sugar units and can be prepared with varying content of the two units. One factor limiting the use of chitosan is causing an unacceptable level of astringency. We hypothesized that astringency was related to the positive charge density and that decreasing the charge density would decrease astringency. Chitosans with fraction of acetylated units (FA) ranging from 0.01 to 0.49 (percentage degree of acetylation from 1 to 49) were analyzed for astringency using a time intensity sensory method. In addition, the ability of chitosans to precipitate saliva proteins was determined. Increasing FA from 0.01 to 0.49 caused a decrease in maximum astringency sensation from 10.9 to 7.2. Mucins and other saliva proteins were precipitated by chitosans but a simple association with astringency intensity was not observed. It can be concluded that altering the charge density of chitosans is a means to alter chitosan astringency.
Published Version
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