The textural properties and microstructure of konjac glucomannan – tungsten gels induced by DC electric fields

• KGM gels were induced by DC electric field in the presence of metal ions.
• The textural properties and the morphology of KGM-T gels were emphatically investigated.
• Our finding paves the way to use DC electric field for the design of other polysaccharide gels.

Konjac glucomannan – tungsten (KGM-T) gels were successfully prepared under DC electric fields, in the presence of sodium tungstate. The textural properties and microstructure of the gels were investigated by Texture Analyzer, Rheometer and SEM. Based on the response surface methodology (RSM) results, the optimum conditions for KGM-T gel springiness is 0.32% sodium tungstate concentration, 0.54% KGM concentration, 24.66 V voltage and 12.37 min treatment time. Under these conditions, the maximum springiness value of KGM-T gel is 1.21 mm. Steady flow measurement indicated that KGM-T gel showed characteristic non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behaviour, with low flow behaviour indexes in the shear thinning region. SEM demonstrated the porosity of the freeze-dried samples. These findings may pave the way to use DC electric fields for the design and development of KGM gels and to apply KGM gels for practical applications.