University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Rheological and microstructural characterization of pea, lentil and almond protein gels

Yavuz, Hakime Gul

Content Files
YAVUZ-THESIS-2019.pdf

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/106340

Description

Title
Rheological and microstructural characterization of pea, lentil and almond protein gels
Author(s)
Yavuz, Hakime Gul
Issue Date
2019-11-12
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Padua, Graciela W
Department of Study
Food Science & Human Nutrition
Discipline
Food Science & Human Nutrition
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Date of Ingest
2020-03-02T22:12:16Z
Keyword(s)
  • Ethanol induced gel
  • plant protein
  • protein gels
  • rheology
  • microstructure.
Abstract
Food industry, in general, and the legume industry, in particular, produce large amounts of protein-based byproducts. Legume seeds generally contain 20% to 30% protein. Food proteins are natural food ingredients that can be used as fortifying and structuring agents in a variety of foods. The gelation of proteins (mainly globular proteins) has received considerable attention for some years because of its potential applications in the food industry. Protein gels can be prepared by cross-linking flexible proteins (e.g. gelatin and keratin) or by inducing the formation of protein aggregates of globular proteins (e.g. pea protein, whey proteins, and soy proteins). In this study three different plant proteins were considered, pea, lentil and almond. Pea seeds consists of 30% protein (70-80% globulins), lentil seeds contain 25-30% protein (70% globulins) and almond seeds contain 15-25% proteins (70% globulins). The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the ethanol-induced gelation behavior of plant proteins and (2) to characterize rheological and microstructural properties of plant protein gels so formed. The effects of protein concentration in the gelling solution (10%, 15% and 20%), ethanol content of the coagulation media (30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70% and 80%) and pH (2, 4 and 7) were considered. Plant proteins formed gels immediately upon contact within ethanol. Rheological measurements indicated that higher protein concentration bolsters instant gel formation. Instant gelation was observed for 15% and 20% protein samples and for most of the 10% protein ones. In general, the strongest gels were formed at 20% protein and 30-40% ethanol. Gel behavior was affected by pH. Rheological measurements at pH 2, 4, and 7 indicated that, at 20% protein in the gelling solution and 30% and 40% ethanol in the coagulation solvent, gels formed immediately upon contact with ethanol for the plant proteins studied and the highest gel strength measurements were observed at pH 2. The results of this research indicated that pea, lentil, and almond proteins form instant gels by ethanol-induced gelation. Gel behavior was affected by protein concentration, ethanol content and pH.
Graduation Semester
2019-12
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/106340
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2019 Hakime Yavuz

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Food Science and Human Nutrition