Foaming properties of suspensions composed by β-lactoglobulin and polysaccharides, in the presence of sucrose or polyols

This study compares the effect of different combinations between β-lactoglobulin (β-lact, 1.0–1.5% w/v), a polysaccharide (carrageenan gum, CG, or locust bean gum, LBG, 0.0–0.5% w/v) and a sweetener (sucrose, maltitol or sorbitol, 0.0–0.5% w/v) on the foaming capacity and half-life time. The experimental design was defined according to a simplex centroid mixture design with a restriction of at least 1.0% w/v of β-lact in each mixture. Measurements of particle size, zeta potential, surface tension, flow curve, foaming capacity and foam half-life time were obtained. All mixtures evaluated showed a wide particle size distribution with diameters between 5.35 and 4494 nm. Mixtures containing CG presented higher values for apparent viscosity and average particle size than mixtures containing LBG, according to the gum concentration in solution. All mixtures showed negative zeta potential values (−14.27 to −40.42 mV) due to the presence of negatively charged β-lact at the pH 7. However, CG exerted a dominant effect on the zeta potential when present in the mixtures. The surface tension and foaming capacity were affected by the combined effect of the gums and sweeteners used. These molecules seemed to concentrate the protein at the interface due to the exclusion volume effect. The foam half-life time was mainly improved by the CG due to the higher bulk apparent viscosity, regardless of the sweetener used. Replacing sucrose with maltitol or sorbitol lead to comparable foam characteristics, mainly the foam capacity and foam half-life time, which confirms the potential of these polyols for sucrose replacement in model foams.