Abstract
The addition of salts is an effective way to improve the properties of polysaccharide/protein complexes for use in foods. However, there is no comparative study on the effects of different ions on the complex system of low methoxyl pectin (LMP)/ sodium caseinate (CAS) complex. The effects of different concentrations of three salt ions (Na+, K+, Ca2+) on the physicochemical and rheological properties of the LMP/CAS complex were determined in this study, and the structure of LMP/CAS complex was characterized. The results showed that the addition of these three salt ions affected zeta potential, particle size, and turbidity of the LMP/CAS complex, and lead the LMP/CAS complex to form a more regular and uniform network structure, which helped improve its stability, solubility, and rheological properties. The particle size and turbidity value of the complex achieved with Ca2+ were higher than those obtained using Na+ and K+. Moreover, the secondary structure of the proteins in the complex changed to adding high concentrations of Ca2+. Our study provides valuable information for the application of the LMP/CAS complex in the food industry.
Highlights
The functional characteristics of food complexes composed of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and other biological macromolecules are significantly different from those composed of single components [1,2] and have attracted increasing attention in the food industry
Zeta potential is closely related to the stability of the low methoxyl pectin (LMP)/CAS complex
Ca2+ crosslinks with LMP in th5e ocfom16plex and forms a Ca2+ bridge with CAS [12]. The role of the latter is more obvious with an increase in Ca2+ concentration, which led to the crosslinking degree of Ca2+-LMP/CAS complexes decreased, and thereby, the zeta potential of this complex decreased gradually
Summary
The functional characteristics of food complexes composed of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and other biological macromolecules are significantly different from those composed of single components [1,2] and have attracted increasing attention in the food industry. In a polysaccharide/protein complex system, the polysaccharide can alter the physical and chemical properties and the functional characteristics of proteins and improve their stability near the isoelectric point, thereby enhancing the physical, chemical, and rheological properties, as well as the stability and texture of the complex [3]. Many studies have reported the effects of single ions on the properties of the polysaccharide/protein complex, which showed that the formation of a polysaccharide/protein complex involves non-covalent interactions, mainly electrostatic interactions [8,9]. Different salt ions have different effects during the complex formation [13]
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