Improvement of gel quality and emulsion stability of high-dose gallic acid-modified myofibrillar protein by zein nanosystems: emphasizing the role of anionic polysaccharides

The binding of high-dose polyphenols can induce aggregation of myofibrillar protein (MP), which compromises its gelling and emulsifying functionalities. Herein, zein/anionic polysaccharide nanoparticles were fabricated for efficient encapsulation of gallic acid (GA), to inhibit the excessive modification of MP by GA (180 μM/g). The GA encapsulation hindered the aggregation of MP, facilitating more proteins to participate in the construction of a denser and strengthened gel network with more entrapped water, and promoting the diffusion of the proteins to the oil surface, resulting in a lower interfacial tension and a more uniform droplet distribution. The electronegativity, hydrophilicity and viscosity of these polysaccharides also helped to improve the gel quality and emulsion stability. Overall, the presence of sodium alginate showed the best improvement effect, followed by gum arabic and xanthan gum. This work provides a strategy to mitigate phenolic antioxidant-induced damage to functionalities of meat proteins.