Hydrogen bond‐driven assembly of coral‐like soy protein isolate–tannic acid microcomplex for encapsulation of limonene

Abstract BACKGROUND The encapsulation of flavor and aroma compounds has great potential in foods, while effective preparation in the food industry is still a great challenge. Inspired by leather tanning, tannic acid (TA) was used for deep crosslinking through hydrogen bond‐driven assembly on soy protein isolate for encapsulating limonene with a high loading ratio. RESULTS The added TA changed the protein structure and formed a limonene‐loaded microcomplex. The morphology of these microcomplexes changed from smooth to rough, followed by the formation of smooth nanoparticle aggregates, by changing the amount of TA. The encapsulation efficiency and loading ratio were increased from 0.78% and 4.30% to 59.32% and 45.78% after increasing TA from 1.875 to 60 mg mL −1 . The result of confocal laser scanning microscopy indicated that limonene is evenly distributed in microcomplexes. Additionally, the results of thermal stability demonstrated protection of limonene by soy protein–tannic acid microcomplex. CONCLUSION It is suggested that the added TA improved the encapsulation efficiency and loading ratio. Limonene is loaded in the complex in two ways. The present research provides a new and easy path for the preparation of the non‐thermal soy protein aroma carrier. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.