Fan Liumin, Yang Gaoji, Li Mengge, Xu Juanjuan, Zhou Dingting, Li Rui, Wang Shaojin
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.
College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Department of Biological Systems Engineering, Washington State University, 213 L.J. Smith Hall, Pullman, WA 99164-6120, USA; Institute of Agro-products Storage and Processing, Xinjiang Academy of Agricultural Science, Urumqi, 830091, China.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Mar;293:139341. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.139341. Epub 2024 Dec 30.
Whey protein (WP) is a highly nutritious animal protein, but its functional properties are sensitive to environmental factors, such as temperature, pH, and ionic strength, which prevent its applications in various food systems. The conjugation of proteins with polysaccharides via the Maillard reaction is an efficient method to improve their functionalities. The purpose of this study was to use radio frequency (RF) heating technology to assist the covalent coupling of WP and gum Arabic (GA) for improving their grafting efficiency and functional properties. Results showed that under the optimal condition of RF heating, the degree of glycosylation (DG) of the conjugate could reach 19.19%, while the maximum DG value of the conjugate obtained by water bath (WB) heating was only 10.60%. There was a good correlation between the DG and dielectric properties of WP-GA conjugates. Structural analysis revealed that compared with their mixtures, the network structure of WP-GA conjugates was clear, the content of β-turn and random coil increased, and the fluorescence intensity and surface hydrophobicity decreased. In addition, glycosylation enhanced the emulsifying, foaming, and antioxidant properties of WP-GA conjugates. This study indicates that the RF heating technology has potential application values in the glycosylation modification of proteins.
乳清蛋白（WP）是一种营养丰富的动物蛋白，但其功能特性对温度、pH值和离子强度等环境因素敏感，这限制了其在各种食品体系中的应用。通过美拉德反应将蛋白质与多糖结合是改善其功能的有效方法。本研究的目的是利用射频（RF）加热技术辅助WP与阿拉伯胶（GA）的共价偶联，以提高其接枝效率和功能特性。结果表明，在射频加热的最佳条件下，共轭物的糖基化程度（DG）可达19.19%，而水浴（WB）加热得到的共轭物的最大DG值仅为10.60%。WP-GA共轭物的DG与介电性能之间存在良好的相关性。结构分析表明，与它们的混合物相比，WP-GA共轭物的网络结构清晰，β-转角和无规卷曲的含量增加，荧光强度和表面疏水性降低。此外，糖基化增强了WP-GA共轭物的乳化、发泡和抗氧化性能。本研究表明，射频加热技术在蛋白质糖基化修饰方面具有潜在的应用价值。
