Yeast as food emulsifier? Easily released protein as strong as industry standard casein

Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have discovered yeast cell wall proteins exhibit emulsifying action, offering alternative to emulsifiers derived from milk and other known allergens

From Osaka Metropolitan University 21/12/24 (first released 16/12/24)

The yeast-derived protein Tdh2 displays emulsifying properties comparable to milk-derived casein. Credit Osaka Metropolitan University

Mention emulsifiers and many people might be unaware what they are used for, but they are present in many daily products, from food to cosmetics.

They keep substances that don’t usually mix, like water and oil, from separating and are either synthetically made or derived from milk, eggs, and soybeans, which are known as major food allergens.

Thus, Osaka Metropolitan University researchers are looking at yeast proteins as emulsifiers.

A research group led by Graduate School of Engineering Professor Masayuki Azuma and Associate Professor Yoshihiro Ojima previously showed that three yeast cell wall proteins (Gas1, Gas3, and Gas5) have high emulsifying activity.

However, they are strongly bound and anchored to the cell wall, so this time they found emulsifying proteins that can be easily freed from the yeast.

Of these proteins, Fba1 showed the strongest emulsifying action.

On the cell surface there also reportedly exists the protein Tdh2, which in the experiments displayed properties as strong as that of Fba1 and comparable to that of casein, a commercial emulsifier usually derived from milk.

“The identification of the major emulsifying proteins in yeast cell wall components is expected to promote the use of these yeast extracts,” stated Professor Azuma.

“By increasing the productivity of the identified proteins, we expect that they can be applied as purified emulsifying proteins.”

The findings were published in Food Hydrocolloids.