The aim of this study was to improve the functional properties of chickpea protein for its potential application in the food industry. The effects of low frequency high intensity ultrasound (HIU) at different power (0-300 W) and time (15-30 min) on the rheological properties, gelation, thermal stability, solubility and microstructure of chickpea protein were tested and analyzed. Based on the analysis, it was found that HIU caused the disruption of non-covalent bonds between protein chains leading to the unfolding of chickpea. The HIU-treated chickpea isolate protein aggregates were smaller and more uniformly dispersed, with increased orderly structure, thermal stability, and exposure of hydrophobic and charged groups originally buried in the interior. The experimental results also showed that the effect of HIU did not become more pronounced with increasing power and time, as the power exceeding 150 W for 30 min led to the formation of new polymers by the interactions between the exposed non-covalent groups, which were more ordered and homogeneous than those without HIU.
Keywords: Differential calorimetric scanning (DSC); Microstructure; Particle size distribution; Rheological properties; Solubility.
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