Carboxymethyl chitin nanofibers stabilized Pickering emulsion gel crosslinked by oxidized alginate for improving
Fuyuan Ding1, Yujie Zhang1, Xiaowei Huang1
1International Joint Research Laboratory of Intelligent Agriculture and Agri-products Processing, Joint Laboratory of China-UK on Food Nondestructive Sensing, School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, 212013, China.
Abstract:
This study developed a low-fat pork gel based on Pickering emulsion stabilized by carboxymethyl chitin nanofibers (CMCNF) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), cross-linked with oxidized sodium alginate (OSA). Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirmed the Schiff base cross-linking between OSA and the amino groups in pork protein, CMCS and CMCNF. With the increase in OSA content (0.5%-1.5%) at the same substitution ratio (30%), the water-holding capacity increased to more than 90%, the cooking loss decreased to less than 8%. At the highest substitution level (50%), the cooking loss was further reduced to 4.32%, and the hardness and gel strength were increased by about 4.7 times compared to control group. The water immobilization and gel network of the pork gels were enhanced. Rheological tests indicated strengthened viscoelastic properties, and in vitro digestion studies revealed delayed lipid digestion. These results indicate that the synergistic combination of the physical stability of Pickering emulsion and chemical cross-linking through a dynamic covalent network provides a strategy for developing structured fat substitutes, and promoting the development of healthy low-fat meat products.
