Relationships of Hydrophobicity to Emulsifying Properties of Heat Denatured Proteins

Effects of heating on the emulsifying properties of selected food proteins and the protein surface hydrophobicity (S_o) as a predictor of these properties were investigated. The emulsifying properties of the proteins studied were differently affected by heating. Heat-denaturation was not always accompanied by loss of emulsifying properties, but, on the contrary, in some cases resulted in great improvement. The emulsifying properties could well be predicted solely on the basis of S_o level but not on the basis of solubility level, which indicated that S_o is a very important property determining protein functionality. However, the emulsifying activity, emulsion stability and fat binding capacity of the proteins studied could be explained and more accurately predicted using S_o and solubility together.