The Stability, Rheological Properties and Interfacial Properties of Oil-in-Water (O/W) Emulsions Prepared from Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Cold Plasma-Treated Chickpea Protein Isolate and Myofibrillar Protein Complexes

In order to increase the development and utilization of chickpea protein isolate (CPI) and improve the stability of myofibrillar protein (MP) emulsions, the effect of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma-modified CPI on the emulsifying properties of MP was investigated. Three different O/W emulsions were prepared using MP, MP + CPI complex, or MP + DBD-treated CPI complex as the emulsifier. Compared with the emulsion prepared from MP, the emulsifying activity index and stability of DBD-treated CPI and MP complex (MP + CPI(DBD)) were increased (p < 0.05) from 55.17 m(2)/g to 74.99 m(2)/g and 66.31% to 99.87%, respectively. MP + CPI(DBD) produced more stable emulsions with the lowest Turbiscan stability index (TSI) values for a given 3600 s. At shear rates from 0 to 1000(−1), MP + CPI(DBD)-stabilized emulsions had higher viscosities, which helped to reduce the chance of aggregation between oil droplets. The optical microscope and particle size distribution of emulsions showed that MP + CPI(DBD) emulsions had the lowest droplet size (d(4,3)) and exhibited more uniform distribution. MP + CPI(DBD) emulsions had lower interfacial tension. DBD pretreatment increased the adsorbed protein content in the emulsion stabilized by MP + CPI(DBD) as compared to the MP + CPI complex and promoted the adsorption of CPI by higher ratios of adsorbed proteins as indicated by its intensity in SDS-PAGE. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the emulsion prepared from MP + CPI(DBD) had smaller particle size and more uniform dispersion. Therefore, using DBD-modified CPI could enhance the stability of MP emulsions.