Mechanism of ultrasonic enhancement of the gelling properties of salted ovalbumin-cooked soybean isolate hybrid gels

The influence of ultrasonic processing on the physicochemical characteristics, microstructure, and intermolecular forces of the hybrid gels obtained by heating the mixtures of different ratios of salted ovalbumin (SOVA)cooked soybean protein isolate (CSPI) was investigated. With the growth of SOVA addition, zeta-potential in absolute value, cohesiveness, water-holding capacity (WHC), surface hydrophobicity, and the content of soluble protein of the hybrid gels decreased (P < 0.05), while the hardness, T-2 relaxation time of the hybrid gels increased (P < 0.05). And the compactness of the network structure of the hybrid gel increased with the increase of SOVA addition. After being treated with ultrasound, significant increases (P < 0.05) of zeta-potential in absolute value, cohesiveness, WHC, and surface hydrophobicity of the hybrid gels were observed. In general, ultrasonic processing is one of the effective means to improve the gel properties of SOVA-CSPI hybrid gels.