Phase separation behavior of egg yolk suspensions after anionic polysaccharides addition

The objectives of this study were to understand the interactions between three anionic polysaccharides (gum arabic, xanthan gum and ι-carrageenan) and egg yolk at pH 3, 5, 6, 8, 10 and possible phase separation behavior. Zeta potential of egg yolk was not affected by gum arabic addition while it became more negative at pH 5 after xanthan gum and ι-carrageenan addition. The particle size of ι-carrageenan yolk suspension was considerably higher than the other polysaccharide yolk suspensions at pH below 6 but was dramatically decreased at alkaline pH. Most polysaccharide yolk suspensions formed either a biphasic or a monophasic system, whereas three distinct phases were observed for xanthan gum yolk suspension at pH 6. Protein profile analysis of the lipid-rich cream phase obtained from xanthan gum added yolk showed similarities to apoproteins from low density lipoproteins (LDL) of egg yolk. Microscopy analysis indicated the co-presence of xanthan gum and LDL in the creamy phase, within a network formed by xanthan gum. It was suggested that electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between the egg yolk and xanthan gum as well as xanthan gum's rheological properties could be responsible for the unique phase separation observed in the study. The findings of this study can form the basis for future studies to develop a new method to separate LDL from egg yolk.