Journal Articles
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Item Heat-induced modifications of pea protein: Implications for solubility and digestion behaviour(Elsevier B.V., 2025-08-20) Li D; Ma Y; Acevedo-Fani A; Lu W; Singh H; Ye APlant proteins have become increasingly desirable due to their sustainability and proposed health benefits. This study initially examined the effects of heat treatment on the solubility of pea protein (PP) in a 3 % (w/w) protein solution, applying heat from 65 °C to 95 °C for varying durations across pH conditions ranging from 5.5 to 7.8. Subsequently, an advanced dynamic gastric digestion model—the Human Gastric Simulator—was employed to examine the in vitro gastric digestion behaviours of heat-treated and untreated PP. Results suggest that heat treatment reduces the protein aggregate size and enhances PP solubility, potentially due to a decrease in α-helix and β-turn structures or an increase in β-sheet content, as determined via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Additionally, heat treatment elevated the surface hydrophobicity and free sulfhydryl group concentration of PP. During in vitro dynamic gastric digestion with pepsin, PP underwent notable structural and physical stability modifications. Unheated and heated PP exhibited small particles in the digesta and remained unaggregated throughout digestion. However, the heat-treated PP showed a smaller particle size during gastric digestion and a greater hydrolysis rate than the unheated protein. This study systematically evaluates the solubility and digestion behaviour of PP subjected to food processing conditions, highlighting its stability and structural changes that may influence the delivery of macronutrients from the stomach to the next phase of digestion.Item Probing structural modification of milk proteins in the presence of pepsin and/or acid using small- and ultra-small-angle neutron scattering(Elsevier Ltd, 2025-02) Yang M; Ye A; Yang Z; Everett DW; de Campo L; Singh H; Gilbert EPAcid- and pepsin-induced milk protein coagulation plays a crucial role in the gastric digestion of milk. Real-time structural evolution at a nano- (e.g. colloidal calcium phosphate (CCP) and micelle) and micro- (gel network) level of unheated and heated (85 °C for 30 min) bovine milk was examined under acidic conditions and at low and high concentrations of pepsin using ultra-small- and small-angle neutron scattering (USANS and SANS), small-amplitude oscillatory rheometry and confocal scanning laser microscopy. Milk was treated with glucono-δ-lactone (GDL), pepsin or a combination of GDL and pepsin to induce coagulation. Heat-treated milk showed a faster increase in elastic storage modulus (G′) and scattering intensity (USANS and SANS) compared with unheated milk when coagulated with GDL or the combination of GDL and pepsin. At pH 6.3, heat treatment retarded pepsin (1.10 U/mL)-induced milk coagulation, with slower increases in G′ and scattering intensity. At a high concentration of pepsin (2000 U/mL) that mimics the concentration found in the stomach, general proteolysis followed coagulation. Heat treatment retarded coagulation but accelerated curd proteolysis. This study demonstrates how time-resolved USANS and SANS can be used to investigate the structural evolution of protein coagulation and degradation under gastric environment conditions at nano- and micro-metre length scales.Item Heat-induced colloidal interactions of whey proteins, sodium caseinate and gum arabic in binary and ternary mixtures(Elsevier Ltd, 2013-11) Loveday SM; Ye A; Anema SG; Singh HMany food-grade proteins and polysaccharides will aggregate together when acidified or heated, due to electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. At low concentrations, aggregates are soluble and colloidally stable, and they have potential applications as Pickering emulsifiers and nutrient carriers. Sodium caseinate (SC) and gum arabic (GA) at pH. 7 will form colloidal aggregates when heated, but aggregation is largely reversed on cooling. Whey proteins (in the form of whey protein isolate, WPI) will aggregate irreversibly with GA when they are heated together, but aggregation is often so rapid and extensive that aggregates precipitate. Here we sought to overcome those limitations, and to develop an in situ method for quantifying heat-induced aggregation. Aggregation was measured using temperature-controlled dynamic light scattering equipment and transmission electron microscopy. Combinations of SC, WPI and GA were heated at either pH. 7 or 3.5, and the weight ratio of protein to polysaccharide was held at 1:5 for simplicity. Heat-induced colloidally stable aggregates of SC. +. WPI. +. GA did not dissociate on cooling. Aggregation was measured in situ, both in temperature ramps and with isothermal experiments. In situ measurement allowed us to avoid potential artefacts stemming from the temperature changes and measurement delays associated with ex situ measurements. This work demonstrated how the size and heat-stability of colloidal protein-polysaccharide aggregates can be tailored by judicious selection of proteins, pH and heat treatment.
