Plasma technology modifies the surface properties of desalted duck egg white and applied as a novel oleogel stabilizer

Salted duck egg white (SDEW) is often discarded due to its high salt content. In this work, low-temperature plasma (LTP) technology was used to modify the functional properties of gelatinized desalted SDEW (gd-SDEW) through physical and chemical changes. After LTP treatment at 35 v for 3 min, gd-SDEW showed an increase in oil holding capacity. The analytical results indicated that the increase of β-sheets in the secondary structure, the surface hydrophobicity and the carbonyl content, the significant increase of BET surface area and decrease of adsorption mean pore size, and the increase of surface roughness were responsible for the increase of its oil holding capacity. LTP-treated gd-SDEW microgels can be used to stabilize the oleogels with excellent oil holding capacity, higher viscosity and gelation characteristics. This study offers the possibility of LTP as a novel technique to modify the surface properties of gd-SDEW for the reuse of SDEW.