Abstract: | Soy protein isolate (SPI) fractions were produced by isoelectric precipitation based on results of isoelectric focusing carried out on the crude soy extract. The fractions were produced from crude protein extract (pH 9.0) sequentially and non‐sequentially at isoelectric points (pIs) of 5.6, 5.1 and 4.5. Emulsions stabilised by soy proteins with pIs between 5.6 and 5.1 had the highest (P < 0.01) emulsion stability index (ESI), while those stabilised with proteins having pIs between 5.1 and 4.5 resulted in the lowest ESI for sequentially precipitated fractions. Non‐sequential fractionation at pI 5.1 produced fractions with higher emulsifying activity index (EAI) than sequential fractionation. SDS‐PAGE profiles indicated that the fractions exhibiting high functionality in terms of ESI and EAI were also richer in 7S globulin protein subunits. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry |