Dry heating of whey proteins leads to formation of microspheres with useful functional properties.

Modification of whey protein isolate (WPI) powders is used in the food industry to enhance the functional properties of WPI. We investigated the impact of severe dry heating (DH) at 100 °C for up to 36 h on an alkaline-treated (pH 9.5), spray dried (water activity of ~0.24) WPI powder. Dry heated powders and their reconstituted suspensions were analysed. DH for 0-6 h led to 47% loss of native proteins, increases in the levels of soluble aggregates (×2.2) and of advanced glycation end-products of the Maillard reaction (at least ×2.7) and to powder browning (at least ×3) with a 95% decrease in free lactose content. DH for at least 12 h led to a decrease in soluble aggregates with concomitant formation of large, stable and insoluble microparticles. These microparticles had a microsphere structure, contained 98% of water phase and were made of insoluble powder particles resulting from protein cross-links during DH. Microparticle size could be altered by varying the pH of the suspension: at pH 6.5, microsphere size was 3-5 times larger than powder particle size, but decreased as the suspension pH neared the isoelectric point. DH could be a useful method for producing functional protein ingredients as these microparticles had very high water retention properties and high viscosity values.