Search

Polysaccharides are widely applied in meat industries due to the excellent gelling, water-holding, and thickening properties. In the current work, carrageenan (CAR), curdlan (CUR) and potato starch (PS), were involved in the process of high-moisture extrusion (HME) of pea protein isolate (PPI) in order to improve the textural and structural characteristics of HME-PPI. Results showed that the addition of CAR and CUR increased the hardness and chewiness of HME-PPI while the presence of PS led to the opposite textural attributes. Compared to the PPI alone, blending 0.4 wt% CAR resulted in the formation of a fine fibrous structure, and adding 0.4 wt% CUR contributed to the generation of short and flat fibers. The FTIR analysis suggested that incorporating polysaccharides resulted in a reduction of the α-helix and random coil contents of PPI, and correspondingly an increase in β-sheet and β-turn contents. Based on the sensory evaluation, the HME-PPI in the presence of 0.4 wt% CAR or 0.4 wt% CUR or 2.0 wt% PS, respectively, were preferred by the panelists. These findings would provide valuable insights into the polysaccharide-modulated product quality of HME-PPI, which is important for the development of PPI as an alternative protein source for meat analogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To overcome the intrinsic limitations of ergocalciferol, layer-by-layer oil-in-water emulsions were formulated and applied in the microencapsulation of ergocalciferol. The primary emulsions were prepared using rhamnolipids to stabilize oil droplets, and then the secondary emulsions were formed by electrostatic deposition of cationic chitosan onto anionic rhamnolipids-coated droplets. The effects of pH, ionic strength, and thermal treatment on the stability of emulsions were investigated. Secondary emulsions were more stable than primary emulsions at low pH and high NaCl concentrations. Both emulsions showed excellent physicochemical stability during long-term storage. The droplet size of ​emulsions remained stable, and the ergocalciferol retention in emulsions was still maintained at over 95% after 30 days of storage. These results indicate that the resistance of prepared emulsions to different environmental stresses is enhanced. Moreover, this study gives important information for extending the utilization of rhamnolipids and chitosan in the delivery system for functional ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meat is a major source of high protein food for human beings, but livestock animals inevitably have negative consequences for environmental change. Plant proteins exhibit a promising potential to replace meat by developing plant-based meat analogues. The main challenge nowadays is how to endow the meat analogues with the similar attributes of real animal meats. The present work focuses on the structure design by improvement of the formulations and optimization of processing conditions using high moisture extrusion technology to create plant-based meat alternatives, and aims to clarify the relationship between the structure and formulation/processing. The major ingredients including proteins, polysaccharides, and their blends for the preparation of meat analogues are summarized since they are major structural components for the product identity and product differentiation, and have vital roles in fibrous structure formation of meat analogues. Extrusion variables, particularly the barrel temperature, the cooling die design and the moisture content of the feed are discussed as the quality of meat analogues could be tailored by extruder design and controlling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of dynamic high-pressure microfluidization (DHPM) and the addition of quercetagetin on the physical, structural, thermal, and morphological characteristics of zein nanoparticles were investigated. The result of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that DHPM treatment caused the structural changes of zein, and the primary interactions between zein and quercetagetin were hydrogen bond and hydrophobic effects. Both of the DHPM treatment and the addition of quercetagetin resulted in the decrease of fluorescence intensity, the improved thermal stability, and the reducing of α-helix and the increase of β-sheets as proved by fluorescence spectra, differential scanning calorimetry thermograms, and circular dichroism spectra, respectively. It was found that the combined DHPM treatment and the addition of quercetagetin with mass ratio of zein to quercetagetin of 40:1 exhibited the morphology of nanospheres with more compact structure and uniform particle distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]