Functional gels from bovine blood proteins as fat substitutes and potential carriers of heme iron

Abstract

We evaluated technological and physicochemical properties and infrared spectra of heat-induced hydrogels (HGs) and emulgels (EGs) obtained from a composite gellant (DFM) of freeze-dried bovine plasma and red cell fraction. Results showed that 10% W/W of DFM is enough to produce gels of adequate self-support, with syneresis ranging from 3 to 11% and 6–13%, for HGs and EGs, respectively. The color differences were perceptible in all cases, and the opacity related to the assembly of the networks increased with the amount of DMF in both gels. Heat-induced gelation led to heme iron (HFe) retention efficiency higher than 89.45 ± 0.19%. Also, lipid oxidation levels in the EGs were lower than the threshold value. We concluded that 10% of DMF allowed obtaining appropriate gels for their use as fat substitutes and potential heme iron vehicles in food products. However, bioavailability studies are required to better understand their behavior under digestive conditions. Industrial relevance: Currently, a low proportion of slaughterhouse blood is aimed at human consumption. Plasma is the most widely used fraction of bovine blood, while the red cell fraction has little application for human consumption, despite its incredible nutritional value. Therefore, the results of this study represent a promising alternative for the use of the red cell fraction, which could be applied to the preparation of highly absorbed iron-enriched foods, useful in the prevention or treatment of iron-deficiency anemia. The iron-enriched gels of our study could be used as fat substitutes in the design of low-fat or improved lipid-profile food matrixes (including baked goods and meat products), which implies adding value to a by-product of slaughterhouses and a potential benefit for the industry of reformulated food products.