Effect of dielectric barrier discharge cold plasma on emulsification and stability of ovalbumin

Abstract

The emulsifying effects and mechanism of ovalbumin (OVA) modified by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) cold plasma were investigated in this study. Results showed that cold plasma improved the emulsifying characteristics of OVA by forming an emulsion with smaller particle size and longer stable time. The adsorption kinetics showed that the modified OVA exhibited higher capability for reducing interfacial tension compared with natural OVA, which also revealed two different stable mechanisms of plasma modified OVA during emulsifying process combining the interfacial protein concentration results. Cold plasma treatment also helped OVA to form the gel network by chemical cross-linking force, which endowed emulsion with solid property. Plasma modified OVA significantly improved the hardness, adhesion and chewiness of processed cheese. The processed cheese displayed better texture, appearance, fluidity and grease release ability than the control cheese emulsified by high sodium and high phosphorus emulsifying salts. It can be concluded that cold plasma is a good way to enhance the emulsification of OVA and obtain better cheese quality.