Fractionation of a hydrocolloid emulsifier reclaimed from winery waste.

ABSTRACT

Complex hydrocolloids have been isolated and fractionated using a consecutive elution process, starting from winery waste. These extracts consist mainly of polysaccharidic populations and of smaller protein molecules and they exhibit emulsifying, thickening and texture-modifying activity. This work is a systematic study of these individual populations, as fractionated with preparative size exclusion chromatography (Prep-SEC) in terms of their chemical identity, surface properties, and emulsification behavior. The fractions have been characterized via SEC-MALLS, FTIR, DLS, zeta potential, and interfacial tension measurements. The results highlight the antagonistic and synergistic effects of the individual components of the above-mentioned complex natural material (winery waste extract) towards its emulsifying behavior, and provide a model for the kinetics of the evolution of a Pickering interfacial layer.