Chicken gelatin modification by caffeic acid: A response surface methodology investigation.

Chemical modifications of gelatin from mechanically separated chicken meat (MSM) residue were practiced using caffeic acid as a cross-linker. The effects of oxidation period (OP), cross-linking temperature (CT), and caffeic acid (CA) concentration were investigated. Experiments were performed using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The effects of 16 different cross-linking modifications on the physicochemical properties of chicken gelatin gels were investigated. Maximum gel strength was determined at 12.5 min OP, 50 °C CT and 2.5% CA concentration and this was 63% higher than the control (uncross-linked chicken gelatin). Temperature has an increasing effect on the degree of cross-linking value up to a certain degree. The highest degree of cross-linking was observed at between 50° and 55 °C. The color characteristics of gels were affected by cross-linking having more brown color. Overall this study demonstrated that caffeic acid has a potential to be an efficient natural cross-linking factor increasing the mechanical properties of chicken gelatin thermo-irreversibly.