Physicochemical and functional properties of leftover egg yolk granules after phosvitin extraction

Characterization of Pickering emulsions stabilized by delipidated egg yolk granular protein nanoparticles crosslinked with ultraviolet radiation

In this study, delipidated egg yolk proteins were used for the first time to prepare nanoparticles by the self-assembling method at pH 8.0, then treated with UV-C as a crosslinking agent, and their stability tested at pH 7.0, which is a more convenient pH for food applications. According to the results obtained, non-irradiated nanoparticles had a size of 431.8 ± 75.7 nm at pH 7.0, but the 10 min UV-C irradiated nanoparticles had an average size of 139.7 ± 5.9 nm. These nanoparticles also showed a high resistance to destabilization by SDS, urea or DTT and noticeable antioxidant and ferrous chelating activities. Pickering emulsions prepared at the nanoparticle concentration of 1 % (w/w) showed the smallest average droplet size and the lowest Turbiscan stability index value after 80 days of storage. All in all, these results have important implications for the utilisation of these proteins as a conventional Pickering emulsifying agent.

Effects of enzymatic modification on the stability of cashew-based milk

The green and low-carbon awareness drives the consumption demand for "clean-label" plant-based milk, which is limited by its physicochemical stability. Herein, the effects of enzymatic hydrolysis on the stability of cashew-based milk (CM) are explored in detail. Our results showed that a maximum protein solubility of 41.36 ± 2.14% was achieved under bromelain treatment of CM either for 60 min or with the addition of 600 U g-1. Under these hydrolysis conditions, CM showed smaller particle size, larger zeta potential, and more uniform size distribution in comparison with the control. Similar behavior was also observed in the apparent viscosity and macroscopic stability, demonstrating the fortification of moderate hydrolysis on the physical stability of CM. Interestingly, bromelain hydrolysis could favor improving the oxidative stability of CM, for which the peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances were decreased by 90% and 60%, respectively, after 14 days of storage in comparison with the control. The correlation analysis confirmed that the physical and oxidative stability was highly associated with protein solubility and secondary structures like α-helix. Therefore, our findings could provide scientific support for developing plant-based milk with fortified physicochemical stability.

Physical Characteristics of Egg Yolk Granules and Effect on Their Functionality

Eggs are among the most nutritious foods in the world, a versatile ingredient in many food applications due to their functional attributes such as foaming, emulsifying, and coloring agents. Many studies have been reported on egg yolk fractionation and characterization in the last decade because of its nutritional and health benefits, especially egg yolk granules. This has led to the development of new food products and packaging materials. However, the influence of their physical characteristics during processing significantly impacts the functionality of yolk granules. In this overview, the egg yolk, the granule fraction's separation, fractionation, components, and molecular protein structure are first presented. Secondly, recent studies on egg yolk granules published over the past decade are discussed. Furthermore, the application of the granules in different industries and current specific scientific challenges are discussed. Finally, it simplifies the changes in the physical characteristics of the granules during different treatment methods and the impact on the functionalities of the resulting products in the food (emulsifiers, edible films), pharmaceutical, and health (encapsulation systems and biosensors) sectors.

Covalent and Noncovalent Complexation of Phosvitin and Gallic Acid: Effects on Protein Functionality and In Vitro Digestion Properties

To investigate the effects of different binding modes on the structure, function, and digestive properties of the phosvitin (Pv) and gallic acid (GA) complex, Pv was covalently and noncovalently combined with different concentrations of GA (0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 mM). The structural characterization of the two Pv-GA complexes was performed by Fourier transform infrared, circular dichroism, and LC-MS/MS to investigate the covalent and noncovalent binding of Pv and GA. In addition, the microstructure of the two Pv-GA complexes was investigated by super-resolution microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The particle size and zeta potential results showed that the addition of GA increased the particle size and the absolute potential of Pv. The determination of protein digestibility, polyphenol content, SH and S-S group levels, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and antioxidant capacity of the digests indicated that noncovalent complexes had greater antioxidant and protective effects on polyphenols. Molecular docking revealed that GA was conjugated with Pv through hydrogen bond interactions.

Emulsifying and emulsion stabilizing properties of hydrolysates of high-density lipoprotein from egg yolk

High-density lipoprotein (HDL) was extracted from hen eggs and enzymatic hydrolysates were formed by neutral protease, trypsin and alkaline protease, which were named as EHN, EHT and EHA, respectively. The solubility of hydrolysates was significantly higher than that of HDL, especially that of EHA significantly increased from 7.69% to 27.54% when it was hydrolyzed for 1.5 h. The emulsifying properties of EHT, EHA and EHN exhibited an increase trend as a function of hydrolysis time and reached the peak values at 3.5, 1.5 and 3.5 h, respectively. This improvement was attributed to the generation of soluble peptides fragments and the exposure of ionizable residues. At different pH, temperatures and ionic strengths, the stability of emulsions stabilized by hydrolysates was higher than that of HDL, especially for emulsions prepared by EHT. These findings might indicate feasible guidance to broaden the application of HDL and enzymatic hydrolysates in emulsions.

Mechanistic insights into the improved properties of mayonnaise from the changes in protein structures of enzymatic modification-treated egg yolk

Heat treatment is an important step in mayonnaise production but can affect the quality of mayonnaise because thermal treatment can accelerate oil droplet coalescence. To resolve this issue, in this study, enzymatically modified egg yolks were applied to produce mayonnaise. Egg yolk hydrolyzed with 0.2% neutral protease could effectively produce mayonnaise with superior heat stability, and this effect was attributed to enzymatic modifications that increased the degree of amino acid ionization, the overall hydrophilicity and the ability to adsorb proteins. Moreover, electrophoresis and FT-IR results showed that the enzymatically modified egg yolk proteins had a smaller molecular weight and more flexible structure, which could also favor the improved properties. The study elucidated why mayonnaise prepared by enzymatic modification-treated egg yolk has better thermal stability.

Heat treatment is an important step in mayonnaise production but can affect the quality of mayonnaise because thermal treatment can accelerate oil droplet coalescence.

Effect of Phospholipase A1 and High-Pressure Homogenization on the Stability, Toxicity, and Permeability of Egg Yolk/Fish Oil Emulsions

Enzymatic treatment of egg yolk with phospholipases can enhance its emulsifying properties and thermal stability. Additionally, a two-step process (primary and secondary homogenization) could form emulsions with better stability. Thus, in this study we used a split-split-plot in time design to assess the effect of enzymatic treatment, processing, and storage conditions on the encapsulation efficiency, stability, toxicity, and permeability of egg yolk/fish oil emulsions stored up to 10 days at 45 °C. Egg yolk solutions before and after treatment with phospholipase A₁ were used as carriers of fish oil containing ≥82% eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. Emulsions were formed by primary (24,000 rpm, 4 min) and secondary (200 MPa) homogenization. The combined effect of treatment with phospholipase A₁ and secondary homogenization resulted in emulsions with improved stability, increased the encapsulation efficiency of the carriers, and reduced the release of oil to the particle surface, resulting in lower formation of oxidation products. At the end of storage time, none of the emulsions were toxic to Caco-2 cells at a concentration of 75 μg/mL medium, while nonencapsulated fish oil reduced cell viability to 81%. Only eicosapentaenoic acid was detected in the basolateral side of Caco-2:HT29 monolayers, and its apparent permeability from nonencapsulated fish oil was significantly lower than that from emulsions.

Fabrication and Characterization of a Microemulsion Stabilized by Integrated Phosvitin and Gallic Acid

The purpose of this work was to conjugate phosvitin (Pv) with gallic acid (GA) to explore a new emulsifier that had both good emulsifying properties and antioxidant activity. The Pv-GA complex was prepared at a GA concentration of 1.5 mg/mL with pH 9.0. The Pv-GA complex obtained was identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and characterized with infrared, ultraviolet, and fluorescence spectra. The emulsifying activity and stability of the Pv-GA complex were slightly improved, and antioxidant activities was significantly enhanced. Furthermore, the Pv-GA complex was used to load conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) for microemulsion preparation. Results showed that the Pv-GA complex could increase the viscosity and lipid antioxidant capacity of Pv-GA/CLA microemulsion. The Pv-GA/CLA microemulsion had remarkable emulsifying activity, emulsifying stability, pH, and thermal stability and poor salt stability.