Abstract
Calcium alginate gel (CAG) has been widely investigated for the development of artificial foods; however, there are few studies on its thermal stability. This study aimed to monitor changes in the physical properties of CAG beads during heat treatment using response surface methodology. Heating temperature (X1, 40–100 °C) and heating time (X2, 5–60 min) were chosen as independent variables. The dependent variables were rupture strength (Y1, kPa), size (Y2, μm), and sphericity (Y3, %). The heating temperature (X1) was the independent variable that had a significant effect on the rupture strength (Y1) and size (Y2). Rupture strength (Y1) increased as the heating temperature (X1) increased; at the same time, the CAG beads size (Y2) decreased. With all conditions, the values of sphericity (Y3) were over 94%. SEM images revealed that increase in the rupture strength of the CAG beads by heat treatment resulted from their porous structures. Loss of moisture by syneresis, occurring with heat treatment, was judged to create a dense porous structure of CAG beads. Our findings offer useful information for cooking or sterilizing food products utilizing CAG beads. In addition, thermal treatment could be applied to produce hard CAG beads with a high rupture strength.
Highlights
Alginate is a linear anionic polysaccharide derived from brown seaweeds and is composed of (1-4)-linked β-D-mannuronic (M) and α-L-guluronic acid (G) residues [1,2]
We found that the heating temperature (X1 ) is a significant factor affecting the rupture strength (Y1 ); there was no statistically significance between rupture strength (Y1 ) and heating time (X2 )
It is important to verify stability and process suitability for artificial or imitative foods using Calcium alginate gel (CAG); the effects of heat treatment on the physical properties of CAG beads can be utilized in several ways
Summary
Alginate is a linear anionic polysaccharide derived from brown seaweeds and is composed of (1-4)-linked β-D-mannuronic (M) and α-L-guluronic acid (G) residues [1,2]. It can form gel through cross linking with divalent cations, forming an egg-box structure [1,3]. Calcium is the most commonly used cation for ionotropic gelation of alginate [1]. Calcium alginate gel (CAG) is produced by extrusion methods, by dripping the alginate solution into a calcium ion solution [4]. CAG has been applied in cell encapsulation, drug delivery and tissue engineering [6]
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