Pulsed Electric Field Induced Aggregation of Food Proteins: Ovalbumin and Bovine Serum Albumin

Ovalbumin (OVA), bovine serum albumin (BSA), and a mixture of the two proteins (OVA + BSA) in solution were exposed to pulsed electric field (PEF) to investigate the protein interaction and aggregation. The results demonstrated the self-aggregation of OVA through disulfide bond due to the exposure of sulfhydryl groups and intermolecular disulfide interactions when PEF intensity exceeded 25 kV cm−1. However, no protein self-aggregation of BSA was observed under PEF treatments of 20 to 35 kV cm−1, which might be ascribed to the less sulfhydryl groups in BSA molecule. The mixture of the two proteins (OVA + BSA) were also subjected to the same PEF treatments. The results showed both OVA and BSA molecules were involved in the protein interaction and aggregation when PEF intensity exceeded 25 kV cm−1. The BSA which was not sensitive to PEF was incorporated covalently into protein aggregates through disulfide cross-links with the other proteins under PEF.