Effect of ultra-high temperature treatment on the enzymatic cross-linking of micellar casein and sodium caseinate by transglutaminase

It was found that ultra-high temperature (UHT) treatment of sodium caseinate and native whey protein-depleted micellar casein drastically increases the protein polymerization effect of an enzymatic treatment by microbial transglutaminase (TG). As a result the concentration of the isopeptide epsilon-(gamma-glutamyl)lysine was increased significantly in UHT-treated micellar casein solutions after TG incubation compared with the unheated casein solution. Sodium caseinate was more susceptible to the cross-linking reaction as compared with the native casein micelles. The results demonstrate that the protein structure significantly affects the TG cross-linking reaction. The effect of an UHT treatment was considered to be related to a better TG accessibility due to a more open casein micelle structure and to the inactivation of a TG inhibitor substance. The results demonstrate that an unidentified component in the natural milk serum inhibits the TG reaction. The thermal inactivation of a TG inhibitor is the dominant effect explaining the improved cross-linking of UHT-treated casein micelles as well as sodium caseinate.