Cold plasma for enhancing covalent conjugation of ovalbumin-gallic acid and its functional properties

The utilization of cold plasma (CP) treatment to promote covalent conjugation of ovalbumin (OVA) and gallic acid (GA), as well as its functionality, were investigated. Results demonstrated that CP significantly enhanced the covalent grafting of OVA and GA. The maximum conjugation of GA, 24.33 ± 2.24 mg/g, was achieved following 45 s of CP treatment. Covalent conjugation between GA and OVA were confirmed through analyses of total sulfhydryl (-SH) group, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Unfolding of the OVA molecule occurred upon conjugation with GA, as evidenced by multiple spectroscopy analyses. Additionally, conjugation with GA resulted in significant improvements in the antioxidant activity and emulsifying properties of OVA. This study demonstrated that CP is a robust and sustainable technique for promoting the covalent conjugate of polyphenols and proteins, offering a novel approach to enhance the functional properties of proteins. •Covalent OVA-GA conjugates were formed after 45 s of CP treatment.•High efficiency of grafting of GA onto OVA (24.33 ± 2.24 mg/g) was achieved.•Monomer, dimer, and polymer forms of OVA-GA conjugates were obtained.•Four to five-fold increase in antioxidant activity was obtained after GA grafting.