Effects of thermal treatment on the formation and properties of whey protein isolate/whey protein hydrolysate-sodium hyaluronate complexes

[Display omitted] •Thermal treatment altered WPI/WPH structure and promoted their interaction with SH.•The formation of WPI-SH and WPH-SH enhanced the thermal stability of proteins.•The formation of WPI-SH and WPH-SH complexes reduced the antigenicity of proteins. In dairy products, the added sodium hyaluronate may form complexes with proteins, thereby affecting product properties. In the present study, the interaction between whey protein isolate (WPI)/ whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) and sodium hyaluronate (SH) was characterized under thermal treatment at different temperatures (25 ℃, 65 ℃, 90 ℃ and 121 ℃) after studying effects of protein/SH ratio and pH on complex formation. The addition of SH reduced the particle size of WPI/WPH and increased potential value in the system, with greater variation with increasing treatment temperature. The structural properties of complexes were studied. The binding with SH decreased the contents of free amino group and free thiol group, as well as the fluorescence intensity and surface hydrophobicity. FTIR results and browning intensity measurement demonstrated the formation of Maillard reaction products. Moreover, the attachment of SH improved the thermal stability of WPI/WPH and decreased their antigenicity.