Functional properties and Pickering emulsion stability of whey protein isolate-inulin complexes enhanced by covalent modification of proanthocyanidins.

IF 4 2区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture Pub Date : 2026-10-01 Epub Date: 2026-06-20 DOI:10.1002/jsfa.70823

Jia-Xin Lu, Yu-Qing Qin, Jing-Nan Ren, Qi An, Li-Fen Ma, Xi-Wen Hu, Gang Fan, Si-Yi Pan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Ultrasound-assisted covalent modification offers a promising approach for fabricating protein-polysaccharide-polyphenol ternary complexes as advanced Pickering emulsion stabilizers, yet facile preparation strategies remain underexplored. This study aimed to develop an ultrasound-assisted covalent modification strategy for preparing whey protein isolate-inulin-proanthocyanidin (WPI-I-PC) ternary complexes and evaluate their functional performance, particularly as Pickering emulsion stabilizers.

Results: The WPI-I-PC complexes were prepared by pH adjustment and wet-heating method with or without ultrasonic assistance. The incorporation of PC markedly decreased the particle size and surface hydrophobicity while altering the secondary structure of WPI. Compared with WPI-PC binary complexes (covalent or non-covalent) and WPI-I-PC ternary non-covalent complexes, the WPI-I-PC covalent complexes prepared with ultrasound-assisted wet-heating method at pH 10 exhibited superior thermal stability, emulsifying activity, and antioxidant capacity. Notably, ultrasound-assisted preparation for 72 min (WPI-I-PC (c)) achieved comparable functionality to the 4 h wet-heating method (WPI-I-PC (4 h)), with a smaller particle size (384.50 versus 476.03 nm). In Pickering emulsions, the WPI-I-PC covalent complexes markedly improved emulsion performance, as reflected by a reduction in flocculation index (from 32.00% for WPI to 7.92% for WPI-I-PC (4 h) and 8.24% for WPI-I-PC (c)) and an increase in interfacial protein adsorption content (from 76.80% to 84.92% and 84.37%, respectively). Furthermore, WPI-I-PC (c) demonstrated outstanding stability and enhanced antioxidant activities.

Conclusion: Ultrasound-assisted covalent modification enabled rapid fabrication of WPI-I-PC ternary complexes with enhanced structural and functional properties. The resulting Pickering emulsions demonstrated outstanding stability and antioxidant activity, offering an efficient strategy for developing novel food-grade emulsion stabilizers with potential applications in functional food delivery systems. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

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原花青素共价修饰增强乳清分离蛋白-菊粉配合物的功能特性及酸洗乳稳定性。

背景：超声辅助共价修饰为制备蛋白质-多糖-多酚三元配合物作为先进的皮克林乳液稳定剂提供了一种很有前途的方法，但简便的制备策略仍有待探索。本研究旨在建立超声辅助共价修饰策略制备分离乳清蛋白-菊粉-原花青素（WPI-I-PC）三元配合物，并评价其功能性能，特别是作为皮克林乳液稳定剂。结果：通过调节pH和湿加热法制备了WPI-I-PC配合物。PC的掺入显著降低了WPI的粒径和表面疏水性，同时改变了WPI的二级结构。与WPI-PC二元配合物（共价或非共价）和WPI-I-PC三元非共价配合物相比，超声辅助湿加热法制备的WPI-I-PC共价配合物在pH 10条件下表现出更好的热稳定性、乳化活性和抗氧化能力。值得注意的是，超声辅助制备72分钟（WPI-I-PC (c)）实现了与4小时湿加热方法（WPI-I-PC（4小时））相当的功能，颗粒尺寸更小（384.50 nm对476.03 nm）。在Pickering乳状液中，WPI- i - pc共价配合物显著改善了乳状液的性能，体现在絮凝指数（从WPI的32.00%降低到WPI- i - pc的7.92% （4 h）和WPI- i - pc的8.24% (c)）和界面蛋白质吸附含量（分别从76.80%提高到84.92%和84.37%）。此外，WPI-I-PC (c)表现出优异的稳定性和增强的抗氧化活性。结论：超声辅助共价修饰可以快速制备WPI-I-PC三元配合物，并增强其结构和功能特性。由此得到的皮克林乳液表现出优异的稳定性和抗氧化活性，为开发新型食品级乳液稳定剂提供了一种有效的策略，在功能性食品输送系统中具有潜在的应用前景。©2026化学工业协会。

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来源期刊

Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 工程技术-农业综合

CiteScore

8.10

自引率

4.90%

发文量

634

审稿时长

3.1 months

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