Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University are studying yeast proteins to see if they can be used as emulsifiers. Emulsification is the process that helps mix things like oil and water together, which is essential in many food products.
While a few proteins, like Gas proteins, are known to help with emulsification, few others have been identified. Understanding these proteins better could help improve their use in food and other applications.
A research team led by Professor Masayuki Azuma and Associate Professor Yoshihiro Ojima discovered that three yeast cell wall proteins- Gas1, Gas3, and Gas5- have strong emulsifying properties. However, these proteins are tightly attached to the yeast cell wall.
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Their latest research identified other emulsifying proteins that can be quickly released from the yeast. Among these, Fba1 showed the strongest emulsifying ability. Additionally, they found that another protein, Tdh2, on the yeast cell surface demonstrated emulsifying properties as strong as Fba1 and comparable to casein, a common emulsifier derived from milk.
Professor Azuma said, “The identification of the major emulsifying proteins in yeast cell wall components is expected to promote the use of these yeast extracts. By increasing the productivity of the identified proteins, we expect that they can be applied as purified emulsifying proteins.”
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Journal Reference:
- Daiki Saito, Shinsuke Nerome, Manami Tachiwana, Yoshihiro Ojima, Masayuki Azuma. Yeast cell wall-derived proteins: Identification and characterization as food emulsifiers. Food Hydrocolloids. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodhyd.2024.110746
