Effect of Chickpea Dietary Fiber on the Emulsion Gel Properties of Pork Myofibrillar Protein

In this study, the effect of chickpea dietary fiber (CDF) concentration (0%, 0.4%, 0.8%, 1.2%, 1.6%, and 2.0%) on emulsion gel properties of myofibrillar protein (MP) was investigated. It was found that the emulsifying activity index (EAI) and emulsifying stability index (ESI) of MP increased with the increasing content of CDF. Moreover, the water- and fat-binding capacity (WFB), gel strength, storage modulus (G’), and loss modulus (G”) of MP emulsion gel also increased with increasing content of CDF. When the concentration of CDF was 2%, the most significant improvement was observed for EAI, breaking force, and WFB (p < 0.05); the three-dimensional gel network structure of the MP emulsion gel was denser and the pore diameter was smaller. The T(21) relaxation time of emulsion gel decreased while the PT(21) increased significantly with the increasing content of CDF, suggesting that the emulsion gel with CDF had a better three-dimension network. The addition of CDF led to an increased content of β-sheet and reactive sulfhydryl and increased surface hydrophobicity of MP, thus improving the gel properties of the MP emulsion gel. In conclusion, the addition of CDF improved the functional properties and facilitated the gelation of the MP emulsion, indicating that CDF has the potential to improve the quality of emulsified meat products.