A novel emulsifier for Pickering emulsion composed of whey protein and OSA-pectin loaded with Monascus pigments

Chaoran Yang; Wei Yu; Boyan Gao; Yuge Niu; Liangli Yu

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139490

A novel emulsifier for Pickering emulsion composed of whey protein and OSA-pectin loaded with Monascus pigments

Int J Biol Macromol. 2025 Jan 3:139490. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139490. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Chaoran Yang¹, Wei Yu¹, Boyan Gao¹, Yuge Niu², Liangli Yu³

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Food and Nutraceutical Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
² Institute of Food and Nutraceutical Science, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China. Electronic address: yugeniu@sjtu.edu.cn.
³ Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, United States.

PMID: 39756758
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2025.139490

Abstract

Protein-polysaccharide complex carrier can solve the problem of insufficient stability of Monascus pigments (MPs), a kind of natural pigments, against heat and light. It also has the function to stabilize Pickering emulsion (PE) that can be used as fat replacer in meat products. In this study, heat denatured whey protein (HWP) and pectin modified by octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA-pectin) were prepared into complex by adding Ca²⁺ loaded with MPs. The complex carrier significantly enhanced the light and heat stabilities of MPs and exhibited excellent wettability. It was then used to prepare PE (HOCM-PE) as a fat replacer to improve the color performance of meat patties. The microstructure and rheological properties of HOCM-PE clarified that the main stable mechanism was to form network structure wrapped around oil droplets in the continuous phase. This structure conferred excellent viscoelasticity and stability to the emulsion. The key quality parameters of meat patties showed that HOCM-PE as a fat substitute was able to maintain the textural properties of the meat patties while providing bright red color. The research provided an ideal dual-functional emulsion for the development of low-fat and low-nitrite meat products.

Keywords: Fat replacer; Monascus pigments; Pectin; Pickering emulsion; Whey protein.