Emulsifying Properties of Blood Protein

Abstract

Functional properties, especially emulsifying properties of plasma protein and globin obtained from slaughtered porcine blood were investigated. The plasma protein showed higher emulsifying activity than the whole whey protein or casein. The emulsifying activity was paticularly high in the acidic pH region and in the presence of NaCl. Globin also showed an increase in emulsifying activity under acidic conditions. The amount of plasma proteins adsorbed on the emulsified oil surface was greater than that of whey proteins, and plasma proteins was adsorbed more tightly than whey proteins. These suggest that adsorption mechanism of plasma proteins to the emulsified oil surface is different from that of whey proteins. Addition of palmitic acid to the plasma protein caused no significant changes in their emulsifying activity. Emulsifying activity of the plasma protein which was treated with charcoal to remove residual fatty acid was markedly reduced, suggesting that this plasma protein preparation contained some component having good emulsifying activity in itself or some factors affecting the emulsifying activity of coexisting proteins. Unique and good functional properties of blood proteins will be beneficial for their utilization in food processings.