High pressure effects on emulsifying behavior of whey protein concentrate

Oil-in-water emulsions (0.4 wt% protein, 20 vol% n-tetradecane, pH 7) prepared with solutions of pressure-treated (up to 800 MPa) whey protein concentrate (WPC) as emulsifier give a broader droplet-size distribution than emulsions made with native untreated protein. There was a decrease in emulsifying efficiency with increasing applied pressure and treatment time. In contrast, pressure treatment of corresponding WPC emulsions made with the native protein had little effect on emulsion stability. In the pressure-treated emulsion the protein is probably already conformationally modified so that pressure has little additional effect. However, in solution the native structure of the whey protein is modified by pressure resulting in loss of emulsifying efficiency.