IMPROVING THE TECHNO-FUNCTIONAL PROPERTIES OF WHEY PROTEIN THROUGH MAILLARD CONJUGATION WITH LACTOSE VIA SPRAY-DRYING

Meileen Huang, Dr. Qurrotul, A'yun, S.T.P., M.Sc., Prof. Dr. Ir. Chusnul Hidayat

2026 | Skripsi | TEKNOLOGI PANGAN & HASIL PERTANIAN

In this study, spray-drying was performed to induce Maillard conjugation between whey protein (80%) and innate lactose (8.6%) to improve the physicochemical properties and emulsion stability that are efficient for industrial application. The spray-drying process was carried out by controlling the inlet temperature to 210°C, air flow rate to 34 m3/hour, and feed rate to 7.5 mL/min. The effect of pre-conditioning pH to 6.5, 8.0, and 9.5 prior to spray-drying was evaluated. Pre-conditioning at alkaline pH (8.0 and 9.5) exhibited favorable physical properties and was sufficient to induce Maillard conjugation without the formation of polymerization products. Pre-conditioning to pH 8.0 in particular exhibited superior emulsion heat stability by maintaining their initial viscosity and particle size after heating at 80°C for 20 minutes, as well as the stability during storage, where the occurrence of creaming just started after 25 days of storing at room temperature. 

In this study, spray-drying was performed to induce Maillard conjugation between whey protein (80%) and innate lactose (8.6%) to improve the physicochemical properties and emulsion stability that are efficient for industrial application. The spray-drying process was carried out by controlling the inlet temperature to 210°C, air flow rate to 34 m3/hour, and feed rate to 7.5 mL/min. The effect of pre-conditioning pH to 6.5, 8.0, and 9.5 prior to spray-drying was evaluated. Pre-conditioning at alkaline pH (8.0 and 9.5) exhibited favorable physical properties and was sufficient to induce Maillard conjugation without the formation of polymerization products. Pre-conditioning to pH 8.0 in particular exhibited superior emulsion heat stability by maintaining their initial viscosity and particle size after heating at 80°C for 20 minutes, as well as the stability during storage, where the occurrence of creaming just started after 25 days of storing at room temperature. 

Kata Kunci : Lactose, Maillard reaction, spray-drying, whey protein