Conjugates of b-conglycinin and dextran were prepared by heating in solution under macromolecular
crowding environment and dry-heating methods, and then fractionated by solubility at pH 4.8 and pH
6.5 and characterized. The results showed that the degree of glycation of the conjugates extracted from
pH 4.8 were higher than the conjugates extracted from pH 6.5. Corresponding to the higher degree of glycation,
it was supposed that the b-conglycinin of groups 4.8 of macromolecular crowding environment
was completely surrounded by the dextran molecular while that of groups 6.5 were encircled partially
with a lower degree of glycation. Compared to b-conglycinin, groups 4.8 demonstrated a decreasing surface
hydrophobicity and sulfhydryl group content while groups 6.5 increased. The secondary structure of
b-conglycinin soluble at pH 4.8 after conjugating under macromolecular crowding environment tended
to stretch out and the highly ordered structure turn to random structures. The differences between the
extraction of pH 4.8 and pH 6.5 conjugated by dry-heating methods were not as remarkable as the
difference between the extraction conjugated by macromolecular crowding environmen