Mechanism study on enhanced emulsifying properties of phosvitin and calcium-binding capacity of its phosphopeptides by lactic acid bacteria fermentation

Lactic acid bacteria fermentation is a safe and green technology that can modify the function of food ingredients (including proteins). In this study, phosvitin (PSV) was subjected to fermentation with lactic acid bacteria for 0, 3, 6 and 9 h, respectively. After fermentation treatment, PSV was partially degraded into short peptides such as K.KPMDEEENDQVK.Q and D.EEENDQVK.Q. The surface hydrophobicity, thermal stability and apparent viscosity were significantly improved. Correspondingly, the emulsifying activity of PSV was enhanced from 12.65 to 16.38, 16.81 and 14.98 m2/g after 3, 6 and 9 h of fermentation, while the emulsifying stability increased from 34.08 min to 44.18, 60.49 and 40.45 min, respectively. In parallel, the phosvitin phosphopeptides (PPP) derived from fermentation-treated PSV showed a higher calcium-binding capacity compared with native PSV. These results indicated that lactic acid bacteria fermentation has the potential as a strategy to improve the emulsifying properties and bioactivity of PSV.