Modification of rheological properties of animal and vegetable proteins treated with high‐intensity ultrasound: A review

Abstract

Abstract The rheological properties of proteins play a role important in the fluid flow, pump selection, equipment design, and product development. In addition, it has been observed that the texture and mouthfeel of foods depend on the viscoelastic properties of their ingredients, especially those that show both elastic and viscous behavior, such as proteins. To improve the functional properties, including the rheological ones, proteins have been subjected to some physical treatments, such as ultrasound, which is considered an emerging green technology. Changes in the properties of proteins by high‐intensity ultrasound vary according to the equipment used, power, frequency, and time of sonication, as well as the intrinsic characteristics of the studied proteins. As pretreatment, ultrasound affects the rheological properties of proteins such as viscosity and storage and loss moduli due to the structural modification of its polypeptide chain, as a consequence of the cavitation phenomenon. In this review, we present the main results of the effect of high‐intensity ultrasound on the rheological properties of animal and vegetable proteins subjected to different conditions such as ultrasound device, power, frequency, wave amplitude, and exposure time mainly. In this context, the information from studies of the impact of ultrasound on the rheological properties of proteins from animal and vegetable sources is important to diversify its possible use as a food ingredient.

Keywords

• animal proteins
• high‐intensity ultrasound
• plant proteins
• protein physicochemical properties
• rheological properties