Abstract
The rich nutritional profile of microalgae biomass has made it a promising clean label food ingredient that has the potential to fortify incorporated food with simultaneous modification of the structural properties. This work investigated the effect of high pressure homogenization (HPH) at 300, 600, and 900 bar on the microstructural and rheological properties of four microalgal suspensions, namely, Arthospira platensis, Isochrysis sp., Nannochloropsis sp., and Tetraselmis sp. HPH treatment resulted in the disintegration of microalgal cells, which altered the cell morphology, particle size, and rheological properties. A. platensis, Isochrysis sp., and Tetraselmis sp. showed a linear HPH intensity-dependent cell disintegration as evidenced by an increase in viscosity of the suspensions. While A. platensis exhibited the most pronounced effect of HPH treatment, Nannochloropsis sp. showed a minimal response that was attributable to its strong cell walls. The significant interspecies differences in the colloidal properties of the HPH-treated microagal suspensions coincided with the proportion of various nutrients where the fluctuation of lipids (between 8% and 17%) and proteins (between 10% and 57%) affected hydrophilic/hydrophobic interactions between the macromolecules. The findings demonstrate that HPH can be used to tailor microalgae biomass for specific food applications as potential structuring ingredients.
•High pressure homogenization impacts the microstructure of microalgal suspensions.•HPH led to severe disruption of A. platensis, Isochrysis and Tetraselmis sp. cells.•Cell disruption resulted to increased viscosity of selected microalgal suspensions.•HPH had minor impact on altering rheology of Nannochloropsis sp. suspension.