Rheological properties of soy protein isolate – carboxymethyl flaxseed gum mixed dispersions under large amplitude oscillatory shear

Carboxymethyl flaxseed gum (CMFG) is developed in our laboratory by modifying flaxseed gun through carboxymethylation. The aim of this study is to reveal the rheological properties of soy protein isolate – carboxymethyl flaxseed gum (SPI-CMFG) mixed dispersion in realistic processing conditions by conducting large amplitude oscillatory shear (LAOS) test, with consideration of concentration and degree of substitution (DS) of CMFG. Results showed that increasing CMFG concentration significantly increased storage moduli (Gʹ), loss moduli (Gʺ), and the apparent viscosity of all SPI-CMFG mixed dispersions. LAOS test illustrated that the dispersions experienced a transition from LAOS type IV to type III after increasing the concentration of CMFG, while the behavior converted from LAOS type I to type III by increasing DS. Fourier transform rheology (FTR) exhibited that increasing the concentration or DS of CMFG both induced a conversion from “soft sphere” to “hard sphere” behavior. The strain-stiffening ratio S and the shear-thickening ratio T demonstrated, that all SPI-CMFG dispersions experienced a similar conversion from strain stiffening to strain softening, and from shear thinning to shear thickening behaviors by increasing the concentration of CMFG. Nevertheless, the mixed dispersions presented shear thickening behaviors when DS was no more than 0.520 in the whole range of strain, while a conversion from shear thinning to shear thickening behavior occurred, when DS reached at 0.755 and 0.973.