Abstract
Buckwheat protein isolate was tested for the effects of pH, addition of sodium chloride and heat treatment on solubility, emulsion capacities, emulsion stability, surface hydrophobicity, foam capacities and foam stability. The solubility of buckwheat protein isolate was affected by pH and showed the lowest value at pH 4.5, the isoelectric point of buckwheat protein isolate. The solubility significantly as the pH value reached closer to either ends of the pH, i.e., pH 1.0 and 11.0. The effects of NaCl concentration on solubility were as follows; at pH 2.0, the solubility significantly decreased when NaCl was added; at pH 4.5, it increased above 0.6 M; at pH 7.0 it increased; and at pH 9.0 it decreased. The solubility increased above $80^{\circ}C$, at all pH ranges. The emulsion capacity was the lowest at pH 4.5. It significantly increased as the pH approached higher acidic or alkalic regions. At pH 2.0, when NaCl was added, the emulsion capacity decreased, but it increased at pH 4.5 and showed the maximum value at pH 7.0 and 9.0 with 0.6 M and 0.8 M NaCl concentrations. Upon heating, the emulsion capacity decreased at acidic pH's but was maximised at pH 7.0 and 9.0 on $60^{\circ}C$ heat treatment. The emulsion stability was the lowest at pH 4.5 but increased with heat treatment. At acidic pH, the emulsion stability increased with the increase in NaCl concentration but decreased at pH 7.0 and 9.0. Generally, at other pH ranges, the emulsion stability was decreased with increased heating temperature. The surface hydrophobicity showed the highest value at pH 2.0 and the lowest value at pH 11.0. As NaCl concentrationed, the surface hydrophobicity decreased at acidic pH. The NaCl concentration had no significant effects on surface hydrophobicity at pH 7.0, 9.0 except for the highest value observed at 0.8 M and 0.4 M. At all pH ranges, the surface hydrophobicity was increased, when the temperature increased. The foam capacity decreased, with increased in pH value. At acidic pH, the foam capacity was decreased with the increased in NaCl concentration. The highest value was observed upon adding 0.2 M or 0.4 M NaCl at pH 7.0 and 9.0. Heat treatments of $60^{\circ}C$ and $40^{\circ}C$ showed the highest foam capacity values at pH 2.0 and 4.5, respectively. At pH 7.0 and 9.0, the foam capacity decreased with the increased in temperature. The foam stability was not significantly related to different pH values. The addition of 0.4 M NaCl at pH 2.0, 7.0 and 9.0 showed the highest stability and the addition of 1.0 M at pH 4.5 showed the lowest. The higher the heating temperature, the lower the foam stability at pH 2.0 and 9.0. However, the foam stability increased at pH 4.5 and 7.0 before reaching $80^{\circ}C$.