Gellan Gum Enhances the Quality of Egg-Based Yoghurt by Changing the Water Phase Distribution and Improving the Gel Texture
Yuanyuan Zhang,
Jianwei Zang,
Shutong Liu,
Bingxu Yan,
Daobang Tang,
Jiguang Chen,
Dongwen Li,
Dayong Peng,
Zebo Liu,
Zhongping Yin
Affiliations
Yuanyuan Zhang
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Jianwei Zang
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Shutong Liu
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Bingxu Yan
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Daobang Tang
Sericultural & Agri-Food Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Key Laboratory of Functional Foods, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs/Guangdong Key Laboratory of Agricultural Product Processing, Guangzhou 510610, China
Jiguang Chen
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Dongwen Li
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Dayong Peng
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Improved Variety Breeding and Efficient Utilization of Native Tree Species, Key Laboratory of Chemical Utilization of Plant Resources of Nanchang, College of Chemistry &Materials, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Zebo Liu
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Zhongping Yin
Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Natural Products and Functional Foods, College of Food Science and Engineering, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045, China
Egg-based yoghurt (EBY) is a novel yoghurt fermented by lactic acid bacteria with high nutritional and health values, serving as a potential alternative to milk-based yoghurt. However, the hardness, adhesiveness, and water-holding capacity of egg-based yoghurt need to be further improved. In this study, the improvement in EBY quality by gellan gum and its underlying mechanism were investigated. The results showed that gellan gum significantly improved the quality of EBY (p < 0.05). Among the five concentration gradients tested, the EBY supplemented with 0.045% gellan gum exhibited the best quality with the highest sensory score of 83.57. With the increasing amount of gellan gum, hydrogen bonding interactions in the yoghurt significantly increased, while ionic bonding remained unchanged, but hydrophobic interactions and disulphide bonding gradually decreased. Low-field NMR assay results demonstrated that gellan gum significantly raised the amount of strongly bonded water while decreasing the amount of immobile water in the yoghurt. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that EBY with 0.045% gellan gum had a better texture, whereas too much or too little gellan gum led to a coarser structure. In summary, gellan gum altered the water phase state and enhanced the water holding capacity through increased hydrogen bonding interactions, which consequently improved the yoghurt’s texture and sensory qualities. This study provides a reference for the development and application of EBY.
