In this work, the conjugates of SPI-GA were obtained by Dryheated
Maillard reaction. The conjugates showed significantly
higher levels of emulsifying activity and emulsifying stability. It is
possible that a special mixture was obtained after graft reaction,
which could include conjugates, non-reacted protein or polysaccharide
and products from protein oxidation. Therefore, further
studies should be performed to isolated conjugates from the
mixture and investigate its physicochemical properties, which
might be helpful for elucidating the grafting mechanism. Good
biocompatibility of conjugates was observed. However, the safety
evaluation of conjugates is still inadequate. More biological data
about the safety of conjugates should be provided in future studies.
Moreover, the conjugates were able to be used as emulsifier and
wall materials to encapsulate the tomato oleoresin. The conjugates
powder can protect lycopene from being released in the stomach
and