In this paper, we present the first detailed study of the reaction kinetics and the characterization of the products from the endothermic reactions between �-lactoglobulin and genipin.  The effects of concentration, temperature, and pH were investigated.  In the temperature range studied, the reaction was approximately pseudo first-order with respect to genipin, and 0.22-order and -0.24-order with respect to �-lactoglobulin for pH 6.75 and 10.5 with corresponding activation energies (Ea) estimated to be 66.2 � 3.8 kJ/mol and 9.40 � 0.36 kJ/mol.  SDS-PAGE studies, validated by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, showed the presence of oligomeric; i.e., dimeric, trimeric, quadrimeric and pentameric forms of crosslinked �-lactoglobulin by genipin at neutral but not alkaline pH; however, an extensive crosslinked network was not observed, consistent with the AFM studies.  It was demonstrated that reaction temperature and the concentration of genipin, but not that of �-lactoglobulin, positively affected the extent of the crosslinking reactions.

Exploring reaction kinetics and mechanism between β-lactoglobulin and genipin

244th National Meeting (2012)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.