CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

Chia seed is a good source of protein (19-27g/100 g) and the high nutritional quality of its proteins has attracted the attention of researchers. The aim of this work was to evaluate the emulsifying properties of chia protein fractions as a function of their chemical environment and treatment conditions (heat treatment, pH). Isolation and fractionation of different chia protein species (globulin, albumin, glutelin and prolamin) were obtained. Then, O/W emulsions (25:75 wt/wt) with sunflower oil and different protein fraction concentrations (0.02-0.06% g/ml of aqueous phase) without or with denaturation (100°C, 15 min) at different pH (3-9) using an Ultraturrax homogenizer (20,000 rpm, 1 min) were obtained. Destabilization kinetics was determined through the evolution of Backscattering as a function of time. Emulsions showed destabilization by creaming, being albumins and globulins the fractions that contributed to a more stable emulsions. D[4,3] diameters were in the range of 30-50 ìm. Emulsions with 0.04% proteins at pH 7 and 9 exhibited more stability against creaming while heat treatment did not influence the emulsifying properties of the different protein fractions studied.