Egg white protein foams: formation and stabilization mechanisms, modification strategies, and applications from foods...

Foams, as colloidal systems with multiscale structures, have attracted considerable scientific attention owing to their unique interfacial architectures and multifunctional properties. In recent years, egg white protein (EWP) foams, owing to their excellent foaming properties and good biocompatibility, have become a focal topic in foam system research. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advances in EWP foams, covering their formation and regulatory mechanisms as well as their applications across multiple fields. First, it introduces and discusses the major foaming proteins in egg white, elucidating the mechanisms underlying foam formation, stabilization, and destabilization. Then, it summarizes the effects and molecular mechanisms of various modification strategies, including physical, chemical, biological, and exogenous compound techniques, on the regulation of EWP foaming properties, and evaluates their energy consumption, environmental impact, and application potential from a sustainability perspective. Finally, the review outlines the recent advances and prospects of EWP foams in interdisciplinary fields, including food, energy and environment, biomedicine, and inorganic functional materials. This review aims to provide systematic references and theoretical guidance for the structural regulation and cross-disciplinary applications of EWP foams.