Rheological Characteristics of Yoghurt with Varying Levels of Milk Fat Globule Membrane

Abstract

The study on the potential applications of milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) material as an ingredient in processed food has become of great interest in the dairy industry today due to the functional and bioactive properties it possessed. Here, we investigated the effects of varying concentrations of MFGM material isolated from butter milk on the rheological properties of yoghurt. Based on the results, the enrichment of MFGM materials significantly affected the rheological properties of yoghurt. Yoghurts enriched with buttermilk MFGM materials showed shear thinning behavior which was higher than the control. They exhibited a thixotropic behavior as well, as the viscosity of yoghurts enriched with buttermilk MFGM material decreased when subjected to increasing shear rate. The enrichment of higher concentrations of MFGM material isolated from buttermilk produced a gel with high initial apparent viscosity but collapsed rapidly when shear was applied; but still the final viscosity was higher than control. Further investigation should be done on the effects of MFGM materials on the properties of yoghurt. An oxidative stability study on the MFGM enriched yoghurt should be conducted. Duration of experimental conduct such as on the storage time can be lengthened to provide a clearer picture on the evolution of yoghurt gel during storage. Study on the effects of MFGM materials at various pasteurization temperature-time, and different incubation temperature-time combinations should be looked into.