Theodoros Karakasidis, Eleni P. Kalogianni, Vassilis Kontogiorgos, Christos Ritzoulis
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
With the global population continuing to rise, there is a pressing need to identify sustainable, high-quality protein sources to meet increasing demand. This study explores the potential of proteins extracted from okra pods (Abelmoschus esculentus) to stabilize oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Okra protein concentrate (OPC) and crude okra extract (OE) were obtained through solvent extraction, with OPC exhibiting an 80% protein content. The isoelectric point of the extracted proteins was pH 4, as determined through zeta potential measurements, which assess the surface charge of particles, and dynamic light scattering (DLS), which measures particle size and stability. Absorption measurements related to sample turbidity confirmed protein aggregation near the isoelectric point. The macromolecular composition was evaluated using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) with a UV detector, identifying carbohydrate and protein populations, while SDS-PAGE was used to determine the molecular weights of the proteins. Emulsions stabilized with > 0.4% w/v OPC demonstrated superior stability over eight days, attributed to the adsorption of low molecular weight proteins (15 kDa) at the oil–water interface. In contrast, emulsions with crude extract showed larger droplet sizes due to Ostwald ripening. Interfacial tension measurements revealed that OPC reduces tension more effectively than OE, forming robust monolayers at pH 5. This high efficiency is linked to the lower molecular weight of the proteins, facilitating strong interfacial adsorption. The findings highlight the potential of okra pods as a sustainable protein source for biofunctional emulsion systems with applications in food and cosmetics industries.
期刊介绍：
Biophysical studies of foods and agricultural products involve research at the interface of chemistry, biology, and engineering, as well as the new interdisciplinary areas of materials science and nanotechnology. Such studies include but are certainly not limited to research in the following areas: the structure of food molecules, biopolymers, and biomaterials on the molecular, microscopic, and mesoscopic scales; the molecular basis of structure generation and maintenance in specific foods, feeds, food processing operations, and agricultural products; the mechanisms of microbial growth, death and antimicrobial action; structure/function relationships in food and agricultural biopolymers; novel biophysical techniques (spectroscopic, microscopic, thermal, rheological, etc.) for structural and dynamical characterization of food and agricultural materials and products; the properties of amorphous biomaterials and their influence on chemical reaction rate, microbial growth, or sensory properties; and molecular mechanisms of taste and smell.
A hallmark of such research is a dependence on various methods of instrumental analysis that provide information on the molecular level, on various physical and chemical theories used to understand the interrelations among biological molecules, and an attempt to relate macroscopic chemical and physical properties and biological functions to the molecular structure and microscopic organization of the biological material.
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