Mina Tirgar
University of Otago, New Zealand
Title: Flaxseed Protein Concentrates as Emulsifiers for Potential Plant-Based Food Fortification
Biography
Biography: Mina Tirgar
Abstract
Emulsions are common forms of food products comprising of small oil droplets distributed in an aqueous phase. Emulsions are susceptible to destabilization through physicochemical phenomena. The most common way to improve the stability of emulsions is to add emulsifiers such as proteins and polysaccharides to prevent droplets accumulation by producing repulsive forces between droplets. Consumer interest is currently growing in plant-based protein emulsifiers due to reduced environmental impact and perceived nutritional benefits. Flaxseed meal is a good source of high quality protein (20–35%), but more knowledge is required on its extraction and functionality of the resulting protein concentrates. Flaxseed protein concentrates (FPCs) containing different levels of mucilage were prepared using (1) alkali extraction by isoelectric precipitation (A-FPC), (2) enzymatic extraction by hydrolysis of fibre (E-FPC) and (3) solvent extraction (ES-FPC) using ethanol (95%). The emulsifying properties of the 3 FPCs were compared in terms of protein solubility (PS), viscosity, oil droplet size, polydispersity (PDI), water holding capacity (WHC) and oil holding capacity (OHC). ES-FPC and A-FPC had the highest and lowest protein content respectively. All emulsions showed mono-modal droplet distribution with small particle size (≤0.45 µm). The highest (94.8%) and lowest (75.2%) solubility was recorded for E-FPC and ES-FPC, respectively. A-FPC showed the highest viscosity, water and oil-holding capacity. Overall, this study indicated that the flaxseed protein with a suitable amount of mucilage can meet the current consumer demand for plant-based protein and fibre in food emulsion systems.
