Effect of γ-polyglutamic acid on the physicochemical properties of soybean protein isolate-stabilized O/W emulsion

An increased interest has been observed in the application of soybean protein isolate (SPI) into O/W emulsion because of the amphipathic characteristics of SPI. However, at pH around 4.5, SPI was almost lost its hydrophilic characteristic, thus greatly limiting its application in emulsion under an acidic environment. Therefore, this drawback of SPI needs to be urgently solved. This study aims to investigate the effect of γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) on physicochemical properties of SPI-stabilized O/W emulsion. The results suggested that the interaction between γ-PGA and SPI improved the SPI solubility in solution, and increased emulsifying properties of SPI in the pH range of 4.0-5.0 via electrostatic interaction. Meanwhile, the charge neutralisation between SPI emulsions with γ-PGA was confirmed via ζ-potentiometry. With the presence of γ-PGA in emulsion at pH 4.0 and 5.0, the electrostatic complexation between SPI and anionic γ-PGA exhibited decreased the viscosity of SPI emulsion, which might be related to the phenomenon as indicated by the confocal laser scanning microscope measurements. Therefore, the electrostatic complexation between SPI and γ-PGA suggested that the promising potential of γ-PGA to be used in SPI-stabilized O/W emulsion under an acidic environment.