Heat-induced gelation of plant globulins

Abstract

Globulins are one of the four major classes of plant proteins and are the main protein component in legumes such as soy and pea. An important functionality of globulins is that they can form gels when heated in aqueous solution. Thermal gelation of these plant proteins is reviewed and it is concluded that though the general features are similar to that of globular proteins from animal sources, there is a strong variation in specific rheological properties such as the gel stiffness. The variation found for globulins from different sources of the same plants and for different extraction methods is often as important as for globulins from different plants.