In vitro analysis reveals pH-driven phase transitions alter functional and bioactive properties in whey protein-glucan mixtures, indicating targeted utility for food formulations.
This study aimed to elucidate the differences in functional and bioactive properties of whey protein isolate(WPI)-oat beta-glucan(OBG) mixed system during pH-induced phase transition. Four representative phase regions were identified, including co-soluble region at pH 2.0 (CSRpH2.0), soluble complex region at pH 5.5 (SCRpH5.5), and insoluble complex region at pH 4.5 (ISRpH4.5) and co-soluble region at pH 7.0 (CSRpH7.0). The WPI-OBG mixture (WG) in CSRpH2.0 had the highest content of irregular secondary structures, following ISRpH4.5, SCRpH5.5 and CSRpH7.0. WG in SCRpH5.5 possessed higher foaming and emulsifying properties than that in ISRpH4.5. Compared with other phase regions, WG in CSRpH2.0 exhibited superior in vitro bioactivity. The principal component analysis showed WG in CSRpH2.0 had the highest comprehensive scores compared with those in other phase regions. The elucidation of differences in functionality and bioactive properties among protein-polysaccharide complexes from different phase regions provide a key theoretical basis for their targeted application in food industry.
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Xu et al. (2026) studied this question.
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