Ferulic acid improved the yogurt stability through interaction with milk protein

Our previous study suggested that bound phenolic acids of rice bran were converted into free phenolic acids during fermentation and these free phenolic acids improved the yogurt stability. Thus, this work investigated the effect of adding ferulic acid, the major phenolic acid of rice bran, on the yogurt stability. It was observed that the syneresis of yogurt was reduced by adding 100 μg/mL ferulic acid before fermentation, which suggested that ferulic acid increased the yogurt stability. Accordingly, adding ferulic acid made the yogurt gel more compact. However, 100 μg/mL ferulic acid had no significant impact on the pH, viscosity, and viscoelasticity of yogurt. Thus, the interaction between ferulic acid and milk protein was investigated. It was observed that ferulic acid interacted with milk protein through the hydrogen bond and van der Waals force. Therefore, it was speculated that ferulic acid interacted with milk protein molecules and induced the more compact structure of yogurt, thus improving the yogurt stability. However, adding ferulic acid after fermentation had no significant impact on the yogurt stability, because the gelation of milk protein caused by fermentation hindered the interaction between ferulic acid and milk protein.