Department of Food Engineering, Faculty of Food Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), R. Monteiro Lobato, 80, 13083-862, Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Jul 15;192:111-117. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.03.062. Epub 2018 Mar 19.
Gellan gels were produced using different approaches forming structures with varied potential applications. Gels were characterized from appearance, mechanical properties, water holding capacity (WHC) and microstructure. In addition, in vitro digestibility of these gels was evaluated to understand the effect of gastrointestinal environment on their structure stability. All gels presented high WHC (>80% w/w) but gels were stronger with salt or acid addition, which was associated to the reduction of double helices repulsion of the negatively charged carboxyl groups of gellan. Moreover, low gelation rate induced a more controlled gellan helices aggregation, strengthening even more gels structure. Gellan gels presented resistance to digestion conditions but hardness of these gels during digestion mainly depended on the gelation rate. Based on these findings it would be possible to tune gel properties for a specific application as texture modifier or even as a faecal bulk formation assistant and an "ileal break" inducer.
使用不同方法制备了凝胶，形成了具有不同潜在应用的结构。从外观、机械性能、持水能力（WHC）和微观结构对凝胶进行了表征。此外，还评估了这些凝胶的体外消化率，以了解胃肠道环境对其结构稳定性的影响。所有凝胶均具有高持水能力（>80%w/w），但加盐或加酸的凝胶更强，这与带负电荷的凝胶羧基的双螺旋排斥的降低有关。此外，较低的胶凝速率会引起更受控的凝胶螺旋聚集，进一步增强凝胶的结构。凝胶在消化条件下具有抗性，但这些凝胶在消化过程中的硬度主要取决于胶凝速率。基于这些发现，可以针对特定应用（例如质地改良剂，甚至是粪便形成辅助剂和回肠阻断诱导剂）来调整凝胶的性质。
