Development of hen egg-based protein beverages with high nutritional value

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Colloid and Surface Chemistry
• Emulsion Technology

Background:

• Physical stability is crucial for emulsion-based beverages.
• Protein-enriched emulsions require effective stabilization strategies.
• Hydrocolloids play a key role in maintaining emulsion integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To optimize beverage emulsions (BE) rich in whole egg, whey protein isolate (WPI), and soyabean oil.
• To investigate the stabilizing effects of adsorbing hydrocolloids (AH) and non-adsorbing hydrocolloids (NAH).
• To determine the impact of WPI concentration, hydrocolloid concentration, oil volume, and pH on emulsion characteristics.

Main Methods:

• Central composite design was employed to optimize formulations.
• Evaluated stability, particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and zeta potential (ζ).
• Tested formulations with varying WPI, hydrocolloid concentrations, oil volumes, and pH levels.

Main Results:

• Optimal conditions for AH-stabilized BE: 1 whole egg, 9.28 g WPI, 11.24 g AH, 5.58 mL oil at pH 7.
• Optimal conditions for NAH-stabilized BE: 3 mL oil, 16 g WPI at pH 3 (7.5 g NAH) and pH 7 (13.56 g NAH).
• AH emulsion: 762 nm size, 0.69 PDI, -32.05 mV ζ. NAH emulsion (pH 7): 150.02 nm size, 0.40 PDI, -28.53 mV ζ. NAH emulsion (pH 3): 248.39 nm size, 0.41 PDI, 27.1 mV ζ. No gravitational separation observed after 20 days at 4°C.

Conclusions:

• Both AH and NAH are suitable for stabilizing protein-enriched BE at neutral pH.
• NAH also provides physical stability for BE at acidic pH.
• Optimized formulations demonstrate good physical stability, indicating potential for commercial application.