Effects of sono-process intensities on structural characteristics and stability of meat sarcoplasmic protein binary complexes

Native Lycium barbarum polysaccharide-sarcoplasmic protein (LBP-SP) binary complexes suffer from poor colloidal stability, which restricts their further utilization. Ultrasonic processing is an effective technique to modulate the microstructure and stability of biopolymer assemblies. Herein, several LBP-SP complexes (0%-5% LBP) were prepared under the same ultrasonic parameters but different sono-process intensities. LBP-SP1 and LBP-SP2 represented groups with relatively low ultrasonic intensity, while LBP-SP5 received mild ultrasonic treatment, and LBP-SP4 was subjected to excessive ultrasonic intensity. Light scattering measurements indicated that mild sono-processing (LBP-SP5) remarkably improved the system stability of LBP-SP0 (42.01%). Spectroscopic and microscopic analyses confirmed that moderate sono-processing facilitated the assembly of spherical SP into aggregates with LBP. More so, the surface hydrophobicity of the LBP-SP5 group was increased by 59.27% when compared with the control (LBP-SP0). By contrast, excessive ultrasound optimized the dispersion of spherical SP particles but generated unfavorable morphologies that impaired system stability. This study confirmed that controlled ultrasonic treatment can convert fragile LBP-SP complexes into stable functional matrices.