Future Foods (Jun 2024)
Application of complexes from phycocyanin and pectin in a model beverage system
Abstract
The blue-appearing phycocyanin from the cyanobacteria Arthrospira platensis undergoes severe color losses during food production or storage. Thus, many studies have looked at stabilizing phycocyanin against processing conditions such as heat with biopolymer complexes. The promising results have not yet been applied to beverage systems. In this study, complexes of pectin and phycocyanin were evaluated for color stability in double distilled water and a model beverage system. The color stability was tested under severe storage conditions. With a z-average diameter of 326 ± 26 nm, the complexes of phycocyanin and pectin remained smaller than pure phycocyanin (415 ± 71 nm) after heating and storage for 13 days. This could assure a better colloidal stability of the color. Kinetic modelling showed that the color degradation was slowed down by the application of complexes between phycocyanin and pectin from a half-life (t1/2) of 74 days to 117 days. A decreased color degradation could be confirmed in the model beverage although an initial color shift which needs to be considered. The color difference between the original hue at day 0 and the samples stained with phycocyanin alone exceeded that of the beverages stained with the complexes from day 10 to 13.
