Binding to phenolics can improve the functional properties of proteins. Changes in structure, functional properties, and antigenicity of β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) after covalent conjugation with ferulic acid (FA) at different mass ratios were reported here. The results of SDS-PAGE and gel exclusion chromatography confirmed that covalent complexes were formed. When the mass ratio of β-LG and FA was 10:6, the binding content of FA was the highest. Fluorescence spectroscopy, UV–visible absorption spectrometry, and FTIR analysis showed that the structure of the complexes was more stretched compared to native β-LG. The addition of FA significantly improved the emulsifying property of β-LG. When the mass ratio was 10:6, the radical scavenging activities of DPPH and ABTS reached 65.06% and 88.22%, respectively, and the antigenicity of β-LG reduced by about 35%. This study provides novel β-LG-FA complexes in food systems to reduce the antigenicity of β-LG and improve functional properties.

与酚类物质结合可以改善蛋白质的功能特性。此处报道了与不同质量比的阿魏酸 (FA) 共价结合后 β-乳球蛋白 (β-LG) 的结构、功能特性和抗原性的变化。SDS-PAGE和凝胶排阻层析的结果证实形成了共价复合物。当β-LG与FA的质量比为10:6时,FA的结合含量最高。荧光光谱、紫外-可见吸收光谱和 FTIR 分析表明，与天然 β-LG 相比，复合物的结构更加伸展。FA的加入显着提高了β-LG的乳化性能。当质量比为10:6时，DPPH和ABTS的自由基清除活性分别达到65.06%和88.22%，β-LG的抗原性降低约35%。本研究在食品系统中提供了新型 β-LG-FA 复合物，以降低 β-LG 的抗原性并改善功能特性。