Ultrasonic-assisted pH-shifting treatment enhances the performance and stability of emulsion gels fabricated by glycosylated Spirulina protein-flaxseed gum conjugates

IF 7.1 3区农林科学 Q1 FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Food Structure-Netherlands Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-05-20 DOI:10.1016/j.foostr.2026.100531

Qiaoli Zhao , Tianai Wang , Peijie Liu, Leyi Chen, Xiaofei Liu, Bingbing Song, Saiyi Zhong

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Spirulina protein (SP), recognized as a high-quality plant-based protein with a balanced amino acid profile, exhibits limited application in emulsion systems due to its poor solubility and emulsifying capacity. In this study, SP was pretreated using ultrasound-assisted pH-shifting and subsequently conjugated with flaxseed gum (FG) via the glycosylation reaction to enhance its functional properties. The potential of the resulting conjugates to stabilize emulsion gels was evaluated. Glycation degree, intermediate product formation, and browning intensity were analyzed to confirm successful conjugation between SP and FG. The ultrasound-assisted pH-shifting treatment (UP) significantly accelerated the glycosylation reaction, inducing notable changes in the secondary structure and spatial conformation of SP. These structural modifications led to remarkable improvements in the functional properties: the solubility, emulsifying activity index, emulsion stability index, and DPPH radical scavenging rate of the UP-SP/FG conjugates reached 53.7%, 1092.54 m²/g, 395.33 min, and 32.85%, respectively. Moreover, emulsion gels stabilized with UP-SP/FG glycosylated conjugates displayed smaller droplet sizes, more uniform size distribution, and enhanced oxidation stability compared to those stabilized with SP/FG glycosylated conjugates. These findings indicate that the combined strategy of ultrasound-assisted pH-shifting and glycosylation conjugation with FG significantly enhances the functional properties of SP, providing a strong foundation for broadening its applications in emulsion-based systems.

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超声辅助移ph处理提高了糖基化螺旋藻蛋白-亚麻籽胶偶联物制备的乳化凝胶的性能和稳定性

螺旋藻蛋白（Spirulina protein， SP）是一种氨基酸结构均衡的优质植物蛋白，但由于其溶解性和乳化能力较差，在乳液体系中的应用受到限制。在本研究中，SP采用超声辅助ph转移预处理，随后通过糖基化反应与亚麻籽胶（FG）偶联，以增强其功能特性。对所得共轭物稳定乳液凝胶的潜力进行了评价。通过糖基化度、中间产物形成和褐变强度的分析，证实了SP和FG的成功偶联。超声辅助ph转移处理（UP）显著加速了糖基化反应，SP的二级结构和空间构象发生了显著变化，这些结构的改变使UP-SP/FG偶联物的功能性能得到显著改善，其溶解度、乳化活性指数、乳状液稳定性指数和DPPH自由基清除率分别达到53.7%、1092.54 m2/g、395.33 min和32.85%。此外，与SP/FG糖基化偶联物稳定的乳液凝胶相比，UP-SP/FG糖基化偶联物稳定的乳液凝胶具有更小的液滴尺寸，更均匀的粒径分布和更强的氧化稳定性。这些结果表明，超声辅助ph转移和糖基化偶联的策略显著提高了SP的功能特性，为其在乳化体系中的应用提供了坚实的基础。

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来源期刊

Food Structure-Netherlands Chemical Engineering-Bioengineering

CiteScore

7.20

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Food Structure is the premier international forum devoted to the publication of high-quality original research on food structure. The focus of this journal is on food structure in the context of its relationship with molecular composition, processing and macroscopic properties (e.g., shelf stability, sensory properties, etc.). Manuscripts that only report qualitative findings and micrographs and that lack sound hypothesis-driven, quantitative structure-function research are not accepted. Significance of the research findings for the food science community and/or industry must also be highlighted.