Characterisation of soluble aggregates from commercial whey protein concentrate suspensions: Effect of protein concentration, pH, and heat treatment conditions

MEZA, BÁRBARA E; DE PIANTE VICÍN, DANIEL A; MARINO, FERNANDA; SIHUFE, GUILLERMO A; PERALTA, JUAN MANUEL; ZORRILLA, SUSANA E

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2020 vol. 73 p. 429 - 436

1364-727X

Soluble aggregates obtained from heat-treated suspensions of commercial whey protein concentrate with 74.4% w/w protein were characterised. The effect of protein concentration (7 and 8% w/w), pH (7.0, 7.5 and 8.0), and heating time (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min) at 80 °C were evaluated. Whey protein concentrate suspensions with the highest protein concentration (8% w/w) and the lowest pH (pH 7.0) had the highest steady shear viscosity and absorbance values, indicating the effect of the soluble aggregate content (high concentration) and the aggregate size (at lower pH values). According to principal component analysis, samples with 8% w/w and pH 7.0 were grouped in a plot region that confirmed the behaviour observed by confocal microscopy. Those whey protein concentratesuspensions could have soluble aggregates with a strong probability of interacting withcations (in cold gelation applications such as microencapsulation) and with each other (in film-formation during coating).