Effects of ultrasound and microwave pretreatments on the ultrafiltration desalination of salted duck egg white protein

•Salted duck egg white protein was desalted by ultrafiltration.•Ultrasound and microwave pretreatments were used before the desalination.•Both ultrasound and microwave pretreatments increased the desalination rate.•The effect of ultrasound was better than that of microwave pretreatment.

The effects of application of ultrasound and microwave treatments before the ultrafiltration desalination of salted duck egg white protein were investigated in this work. The desalination rate, color, microstructure, foaming capacity, emulsifying index and gelling property were determined. The results showed that ultrasound and microwave pretreatments increased about 10% and 3% desalination rate, respectively, compared to that without any pretreatment sample, beside the product quality was also improved. The effect of ultrasound pretreatment was better than that of microwave in terms of foaming capacity and emulsifying index of the product.