Functional properties of protein macromolecules such as protein solubility are of particular interest to the food and nutrition industries as they have significant implications on other useful properties and characteristics for the development of nutritional and food supplements. Consequently, proteins with specific and consistent functional characteristics are in high demand as essential ingredients in formulated food or in pharmaceutical and industrial mixtures. Proteins need to be highly soluble so that their functional properties can be effectively exploited, therefore methods to improve the solubility of protein powders are currently being developed. It has been hypothesized that atmospheric plasma treatment has an effect on protein solubility and dispersibility. This theory has not been yet explored with whey protein isolate elsewhere; this study is the first to explore the impact of plasma based treatment. The effect of atmospheric plasma treatment on the solubility and dispersibility of dry protein powder has been studied. Each variable was examined using both a pristine sample of whey protein isolate and a sample of whey protein isolate from the same product batch that had been exposed to atmospheric plasma (following ISO 8156 and ISO/TS 17758 protocols). We demonstrate that plasma can successfully increase the solubility and dispersibility of whey protein powder.
Effects of thermally induced denaturation on technological-functional properties of whey protein isolate-based films
