Foods (Jun 2024)

Chicken Egg White Gels: Fabrication, Modification, and Applications in Foods and Oral Nutraceutical Delivery

  • Junhua Li,
  • Xuechun Wang,
  • Cuihua Chang,
  • Luping Gu,
  • Yujie Su,
  • Yanjun Yang,
  • Dominic Agyei,
  • Qi Han

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13121834
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 12
p. 1834

Abstract

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Chicken egg white (EW) proteins possess various useful techno-functionalities, including foaming, gelling or coagulating, and emulsifying. The gelling property is one of the most important functionalities of EW proteins, affecting their versatile applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, it is challenging to develop high-quality gelled foods and innovative nutraceutical supplements using native EW and its proteins. This review describes the gelling properties of EW proteins. It discusses the development and action mechanism of the physical, chemical, and biological methods and exogenous substances used in the modification of EW gels. Two main applications of EW gels, i.e., gelling agents in foods and gel-type carriers for nutraceutical delivery, are systematically summarized and discussed. In addition, the research and technological gaps between modified EW gels and their applications are highlighted. By reviewing the new modification strategies and application trends of EW gels, this paper provides insights into the development of EW gel-derived products with new and functional features.

Keywords