Agglomeration of soy protein isolate in a pulsed fluidized bed: Experimental study and process optimization

Toward Diverse Plant Proteins for Food Innovation

This review highlights the development of plant proteins from a wide variety of sources, as most of the research and development efforts to date have been limited to a few sources including soy, chickpea, wheat, and pea. The native structure of plant proteins during production and their impact on food colloids including emulsions, foams, and gels are considered in relation to their fundamental properties, while highlighting the recent developments in the production and processing technologies with regard to their impacts on the molecular properties and aggregation of the proteins. The ability to quantify structural, morphological, and rheological properties can provide a better understanding of the roles of plant proteins in food systems. The applications of plant proteins as dairy and meat alternatives are discussed from the perspective of food structure formation. Future directions on the processing of plant proteins and potential applications are outlined to encourage the generation of more diverse plant-based products.

Effect of Fluidized Bed Agglomeration on Rheological and Physical Properties of Soy Protein-Enriched Milk Powder for Dietary Supplementation in Sarcopenia

Recently, many elderly people in Korea have been consuming protein-enriched milk powders for dietary supplementation in sarcopenia. In general, protein powders are manufactured using a spray dryer, and their fine particles result in poor instant properties. Fluidized bed agglomeration (FBA) is an effective method for improving the physical properties of protein powders via particle granulation, such as flowability and wettability. Therefore, the effects of FBA on the rheological and physical properties of isolated soy protein (ISP)-enriched skim milk powder (SMP) were investigated in this study. The size of ISP-enriched SMP particles was significantly increased by FBA, leading to changes in the Carr index and Hausner ratio from fair flowability and intermediate cohesiveness to good flowability and low cohesiveness, respectively. The wettability of the granulated particles was also improved by FBA, and they exhibited a shorter wetting time below 10 s. However, a slight color change was observed after the FBA process. These findings contribute to the production of protein-enriched food powders with improved properties.

Combining fruit pulp and rice protein agglomerated with collagen to potencialize it as a functional food: particle characterization, pulp formulation and sensory analysis

In this study, agglomeration process was applied in concentrated rice protein (RP) powder using hydrolyzed collagen (HC) as binder to improve wetting time and flowability, aiming at its application in the food industry, namely for fruit pulp supplementation. Fruit pulps from acerola (Malpighia emarginata), cashew (Anarcadium occidentale), guava (Psidium guajava), soursop (Annona muricate), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata) replaced in 1-5% (w/w) by RP or RP agglomerated with collagen were evaluated in terms of viscosity/color and sensory attributes. The addition of RP led to changes in the color of the pulps analyzed, resulting in a red and yellowish color. Viscosity analysis showed that the agglomeration process increased RP dispersion as a function of collagen concentration. The percentage of concentrated RP and RP agglomerated with collagen was limited to 1-3% in order to generate acceptance levels higher than 80%, which is similar to the acceptance rate of pulps without any addition (control-NA).

Characterization of Soybean Protein Adhesives Modified by Xanthan Gum

The aim of this study was to provide a basis for the preparation of medical adhesives from soybean protein sources. Soybean protein (SP) adhesives mixed with different concentrations of xanthan gum (XG) were prepared. Their adhesive features were evaluated by physicochemical parameters and an in vitro bone adhesion assay. The results showed that the maximal adhesion strength was achieved in 5% SP adhesive with 0.5% XG addition, which was 2.6-fold higher than the SP alone. The addition of XG significantly increased the hydrogen bond and viscosity, as well as increased the β-sheet content but decreased the α-helix content in the second structure of protein. X-ray diffraction data showed significant interactions between SP molecules and XG. Scanning electron microscopy observations showed that the surface of SP adhesive modified by XG was more viscous and compact, which were favorable for the adhesion between the adhesive and bone. In summary, XG modification caused an increase in the hydrogen bonding and zero-shear viscosity of SP adhesives, leading to a significant increase in the bond strength of SP adhesives onto porcine bones.