Abstract
The effect of heating on the functional properties of ovotransferrin greatly varied with both the pH and ionic strength of the solution. When small amounts of inorganic salts (μ<0.1) were present in the ovotransferrin solution of which the pH was between 6.0 and 8.5, both the solubility and foaminess greatly decreased upon heating at a temperature above 60°C for 5 min. However, when the amounts of inorganic salts were larger (μ≥0.3), no decrease in either property was observed. These phenomena were assumed to be caused by either cation binding (at a low concentration of salts) or anion binding (at a high concentration of salts) of ovotransferrin. Among the anions tested, both phosphate and citrate which are assumed to have a rather high affinity for ovotransferrin did not cause any heat-induced defect at any of the salt concentrations tested.
