RESUMEN
A cold-water extract of olive leaves (Olea europaea L.) is useful as a texture-improving agent for food protein gels. In this work, the compound contributing to the improvement of gel properties was investigated by using the egg white gel (EWG) as a model for food protein gels. Adding 1.0% (w/v) cold-water extract (OLEx) greatly improved the elasticity (2.1 times), viscosity (4.5 times), and breaking stress (1.4 times) of the EWG. Chemical analyses of the protein revealed that the enhancement of physical properties by OLEx was attributed to protein cross-linking activity of polyphenols. LC/MS and NMR analyses indicated that a major protein cross-linker is the dialdehydic form of demethoxycarbonylelenolic acid linked to hydroxytyrosol (3,4-DHPEA-EDA), which is an aglycone derived from oleuropein, a major polyphenol of olive leaves. These results suggest that 3,4-DHPEA-EDA generated by cold-water extraction from the leaf improves the physical properties, that is, texture, of protein gels.