Production and characterization of gels and emulsion gels formed by pea protein and agar-agar

• Grant number: 23/17790-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Larissa Consoli
• Grantee: Leonardo Pereira dos Reis
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências da Natureza (CCN). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Campus de Lagoa do Sino. Buri , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In recent decades, consumers' search for healthier foods has grown, motivated by health-related concerns. Exaggerated consumption of total and trans fats is related to an increased incidence of chronic diseases. In this context, much research has been carried out aiming to develop food matrices with texture properties similar to fats, for use as substitutes for this component in foods, such as in meat products. Gel emulsions are emulsified systems, with an oily phase dispersed in a colloidal matrix, where the formation of a three-dimensional network with viscoelastic properties, similar to gels, is observed. The structure of these materials enables their use as fat substitutes in foods. Furthermore, many of these systems can also perform the function of vehicles for bioactive compounds through their oily phase. Among vegetable proteins, which represent a more sustainable alternative for use as food additives, pea protein has stood out due to its composition and low allergenicity. Agar-agar is a polysaccharide extracted from seaweed, which has remarkable gel-forming capacity. The combination of these materials to form gels used to replace fat in meat products has been the subject of recent studies. However, there is a lack of information on the rheological properties of these materials, as well as their application for the formation of gel emulsions. The present project proposes the evaluation of systems formed by the combination of pea protein and agar, determining the rheological properties of the gels, and evaluating their effectiveness for the formation of gel emulsions. This last application, if viable, will allow the expansion of the use of these materials as retention systems for fat-soluble bioactive compounds.