Effects of high pressure homogenize treatment on the physicochemical and emulsifying properties of proteins from scallop (Chlamys farreri)

In this study, the effects of high pressure homogenization (HPH) (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 MPa) on physicochemical and emulsifying properties of scallop (Chlamys farreri) protein (CFP) solutions were investigated. With the increasing of homogenize pressure, CFP solutions have better solubility. HPH could significantly decrease the particle size, which is distributed mainly in 300–600 nm. Compared with other treatments, HPH at 100 MPa showed highest surface hydrophobicity index (H0) (131.22 ± 2.22), higher nitrogen soluble index (NSI) (92.72 ± 0.53%) and higher free sulfhydryl group (3.97 ± 0.20 μmol/g protein). Circular dichroism (CD) inspections showed that 100 MPa of high pressure homogenization could make the random coil component decrease and the β-sheet component increase. The adsorbed proteins (AP %) of the emulsions progressively increased from 39.69 ± 0.11% to 61.89 ± 1.01% with the pressure of homogenization increasing from 20 to 100 MPa. Most of the proteins in the emulsions were adsorbed after HPH. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) showed stability of the emulsion was increased by HPH. This work showed that HPH treatment has positive effects on physiochemical and emulsifying properties of CFP for innovative technologies for the potential industrial applications.