Effect of egg yolk lipoproteins on foaming properties and interfacial behavior of egg white: Insights into implications for aerated food production

Chicken eggs are often used as an ingredient in oil-containing aerated foods. Different egg yolk lipids have different influence on the foaming properties of egg white, but the exact mechanism behind this influence is not well understood. In this study, we aimed to investigate how high and low-density lipoproteins present in egg yolks impact the macroscopic foam characteristics, rheological properties, and air/water (a/w) interfacial behavior in egg white foams. We found that the addition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) at a concentration as low as 0.1% led to a significant decrease in foaming ability (FA) by 284.67% to 66.67%. Conversely, high-density lipoproteins (HDL) improved the FA from 284.67% to 340.67% within the concentration range of 0.024% to 0.16%. Rheological properties showed that the addition of LDL caused a decrease in the viscoelasticity of the interfacial membrane, while HDL had no significant effect on viscoelasticity. Interfacial behavior results suggested that LDL and HDL were detrimental to the diffusion of protein molecules at the a/w interface. This implied that the effects of LDL and HDL on the foaming properties of EWP were mainly due to the competitive adsorption of lipids and proteins at the A/W interface, as well as the interactions between them. This work provides new insights into the effect mechanism of different forms of egg yolk lipids on the foaming properties of egg white, which can be beneficial for regulating oil-containing aerated foods to meet production demands.