Effect of high pressure homogenization on sugar beet pulp: Physicochemical, thermal and structural properties

The effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) on the physicochemical, thermal and structural properties of sugar beet pulp (SBP) was investigated in this study. The SBP suspensions (2 g/100 g) were homogenized under different HPH pressure from 0 to 100 MPa. The results indicated that the mean particle size of SBP suspensions increased after HPH treatment at 5 MPa and decreased as the HPH pressure increased from 5 to 100 MPa. The soluble dietary fiber content increased and insoluble dietary fiber decreased as the HPH pressure increased from 5 to 25 MPa. The HPH treatments under 50 and 100 MPa decreased the total dietary fiber and soluble dietary fiber contents. The water and oil holding capacities increased with the increment of HPH pressure ranged from 0 to 100 MPa. The HPH treatment increased the transition temperature and decreased the melting peak temperature. Fourier transform infrared spectra indicated that HPH had little effect on main components of SBP but decreased the intensity of characteristic bands in absorbance. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed similar tendency and HPH treatment decreased the crystallinity index. In addition, microscopic pictures revealed that homogenized samples gradually stretched and showed flake-like structures after HPH treatment.