Elucidating the synergistic interplay between soybean oil and ionic polysaccharides in modulating the gelation...

This study explored the synergistic effects and mechanisms of surimi, soybean oil (2.0%), and different ionic polysaccharides, including anionic κ-carrageenan (0.5%), neutral konjac glucomannan (0.5%), and cationic chitosan (0.2%). The results showed that neutral konjac glucomannan demonstrated the most effective enhancement of gel strength (6813 g·mm) and water-holding capacity (93.49%) within the ternary system, followed by the ionic polysaccharides. Molecular force and dynamics simulations confirmed hydrogen bonding (28.7%) and hydrophobic interactions (42.3%) as the primary driving forces for konjac glucomannan in the ternary system. Its binding energy (0.46 kcal/mol) exceeded that of κ-carrageenan (-0.69 kcal/mol) but fell below chitosan (1.59 kcal/mol), enabling the surimi-oil-konjac glucomannan system to form a compact, stable three-dimensional network structure. This study offers a novel perspective for regulating and enhancing the quality of surimi gel foods during industrial production by controlling the ionic type of added polysaccharides.