Hu Yuying, Hu Yan, Wu Huiyi, Bao Luyang, Shi Xin, Wu Can, Cui Bing, Liang Hongshan, Zhou Bin
Key Laboratory of Fermentation Engineering (Ministry of Education), Cooperative Innovation Center of Industrial Fermentation (Ministry of Education & Hubei Province), School of Life and Health Sciences, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China.
College of Food Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Foods. 2025 Apr 29;14(9):1556. doi: 10.3390/foods14091556.
This study aimed to provide systematic insight into the relationship between spray conditions and the physicochemical and gelation properties of egg white protein (EWP). Specifically, the effects of two key factors, the inlet temperature and flow rate, on the physicochemical and structural properties of EWP were determined. The analysis revealed that as the spray-drying temperature increased, more hydrophobic groups in EWP were exposed and prone to aggregate. Furthermore, the physicochemical and rheological properties and microstructure of egg white protein gel (EWPG) were determined. The results indicate that under a relatively high inlet temperature and a low flow rate, the hardness, springing, and water-holding capacity of the produced gel were improved. Excessively high temperatures were detrimental to pre-aggregate formation and the development of a homogeneous network. The rheological results demonstrate that the EWPG exhibited a weak frequency dependence and elastic-dominant gel characteristics. Further analysis indicated that the inlet temperature significantly influenced the nonlinear response of the EWPG, with the strongest higher-order viscous nonlinear properties observed at 140 °C. The microstructure suggested that at 140 °C, the EWPG achieved a minimum porosity of 50.07% and a maximum fractal dimension (D) of 2.745, where a uniform network structure was generated. This study demonstrated that relatively high temperatures and low flow rates in the spray-drying process were advantageous for producing egg white protein gel with desirable characteristics, which has potential for the actual application of egg-based food products.
本研究旨在系统深入地了解喷雾条件与蛋清蛋白（EWP）的物理化学和凝胶化特性之间的关系。具体而言，确定了两个关键因素——进口温度和流速对EWP物理化学和结构特性的影响。分析表明，随着喷雾干燥温度升高，EWP中更多疏水基团暴露并易于聚集。此外，还测定了蛋清蛋白凝胶（EWPG）的物理化学、流变学特性和微观结构。结果表明，在相对较高的进口温度和较低的流速下，所制备凝胶的硬度、弹性和持水能力得到改善。过高温度不利于预聚集体形成和均匀网络的发展。流变学结果表明，EWPG表现出较弱的频率依赖性和以弹性为主的凝胶特性。进一步分析表明，进口温度显著影响EWPG的非线性响应，在140℃时观察到最强的高阶粘性非线性特性。微观结构表明，在140℃时，EWPG的孔隙率最低为50.07%，分形维数（D）最大为2.745，此时形成了均匀的网络结构。本研究表明，喷雾干燥过程中相对较高的温度和较低的流速有利于制备具有理想特性的蛋清蛋白凝胶，这对于基于鸡蛋的食品实际应用具有潜力。
