Fabrication and characterization of heat-set composite gels obtained from complexation of electro-activated whey/canola proteins mixture

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of cathodic alkaline electro-activation (EA) treatment on the flow behavior and gelling properties of canola proteins and the mixture of sweet whey/canola proteins. Canola proteins alone (C) and whey/canola proteins mixed suspensions (CW) were treated in an alkalinizing electro-activation reactor and then naturalized to neutral pH. The alkaline EA treatment resulted in the production of small aggregates crosslinked by disulfide and covalent bonds. The gelation experiments showed that the EA-treated canola proteins and whey/canola protein samples had a superior capacity to develop an integrated gel structure with higher mechanical and rheological properties and improved water holding capacity compared to the untreated samples. Characterization of interactions involved in the gel network structure suggested that the strong covalent interactions played a prominent role in the network of these EA-treated samples. The SDS-PAGE pattern of the gels made from EA-treated canola proteins and EA whey/canola proteins samples confirmed the presence of intensive protein polymerization through covalent crosslinking in these gels. The results of this study suggest that the alkaline EA treatment is an effective tool for improving the gelation properties of canola proteins and producing whey/canola proteins composite gels with improved functionality.