Improvement of canola protein gelation properties through enzymatic modification with transglutaminase

Enzymatic modification with transglutaminase (TG) was used to enhance the gelation of canola protein isolate (CPI) and thus improve its potential as a food ingredient. The effects of CPI concentration, TG concentration, treatment temperature and treatment time on CPI gelation properties were evaluated. A texture analyzer, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the resulting networks. The protein concentration, amount of TG, and treatment temperature were found to significantly impact gel strength. It was found that gelation can be improved by increasing the amounts of protein and TG and by keeping the treatment temperature close to 40 °C. SDS-PAGE showed that cross-linking of subunits occurred through TG treatment thus helping to explain the increase in gel strength observed during texture analysis. Micrographs further corroborated the trends noted during rheological studies.