Whey protein and maltodextrin conjugated foam-mat dried honey powder: Functional, physicochemical, structural, rheological and thermal characterization

Honey in its natural form possesses considerable challenges in mass production and transportation owing to its viscosity and stickiness, making it prone to crystallization over time. Dried honey powder makes it convenient for handling and processing. In this study, foam mat dried powder (FMDP) was obtained by foam mat drying technique in which whey protein isolate (WPI) and maltodextrin (MD) were used as foaming agent and foam stabilizer, respectively. The obtained FMDP was characterized in terms of physical, chemical, functional, phytochemical, rheological and structural properties to study the impact of foaming agents. WPI was found to improve the functionality, stability and glass transition temperature and on the other hand, MD was found to enhance the stability, crystallinity and the color of the FMDP. FTIR helped in understanding the changes in the functional groups attributed to the foaming agents. The crystallinity and the microstructural changes in the FMDP were observed from X-ray diffractograms and SEM micrographs, respectively. The rheological characterization confirmed the viscous nature of honey. The study confirmed the interaction between proteins and polysaccharides, which subsequently improved the heat stability, functional properties, solubility, emulsifying capacity, antioxidant properties, and solubility. The dried honey samples demonstrated minimal caking, low cohesiveness (Hausner ratio: 1.16 f 0.027-1.29 f 0.041), good and fair flowability (ranging between 14.25 f 2.02-22.52 f 2.25). Therefore, it can be concluded that during this study, protein and polysaccharide conjugate FMDP was obtained with better quality attributes, which can be further incorporated during various product development in food industries.