Interactions of whey proteins during heat treatment of oil-in-water emulsions formed with whey protein isolate and hydroxylated lecithin

The interactions of proteins during the heat treatment of whey-protein-isolate (WPI)-based oil-in-water emulsions with and without added hydroxylated lecithin were studied by examining the changes in droplet size distribution and the quantity and type of adsorbed and unadsorbed proteins. Heat treatment at 90 degrees C of WPI emulsions resulted in an increase in total adsorbed protein; unadsorbed beta-lactoglobulin (beta-lg) was the main protein interacting with the adsorbed proteins during the first 10 min of heating, but after this time, unadsorbed alpha-lactalbumin (alpha-la) also associated with the adsorbed protein. In emulsions containing hydroxylated lecithin, the increase in total adsorbed protein during heat treatment was much lower and the unadsorbed beta-lg did not appear to interact with the adsorbed proteins during heating. However, the behavior of alpha-la during heat treatment of these emulsions was similar to that observed in the emulsions containing no hydroxylated lecithin. In the presence of NaCl, the particle size of the emulsion droplets and the quantities of adsorbed protein increased markedly during heating. Emulsions containing hydroxylated lecithin were less sensitive to the addition of NaCl. These results suggest that the binding of hydroxylated lecithin to unfolded monomers or intermediate products of beta-lg reduces the extent of heat-induced aggregation of beta-lg and consequently decreases the interactions between unadsorbed beta-lg and adsorbed protein. This was confirmed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of heated whey protein and hydroxylated lecithin solutions.