“We have demonstrated that crayfish proteins at pH 8 show higher solubility, smaller aggregates and better interfacial activity (higher surface pressure and lower interfacial tension) with higher interfacial viscoelasticity,” wrote the authors, led by Alberto Romero at the department of chemical engineering at the University of Sevilla, Spain.
The researchers said that the results “confirm the relevance … as well as the excellent potential” of crayfish proteins as a food emulsifier.
Study details
Crayfish flour was manufactured on a pilot scale by separating the exoskeleton from comminuted (pulverised) material, to form a crayfish “meat slurry”, which was then dried to obtain a powder.
From this, the researchers extracted a crayfish protein isolate, which was tested for its ability as an emulsifying protein.
The authors reported the crayfish protein isolate to vary in its solubility behaviour dependent on pH. However, they observed that the protein molecules aggregate at both acidic and alkaline pHs.
