Release of volatile compounds from emulsions: Influence of β-lactoglobulin and pH

The influence of β-lactoglobulin (0, 1, 2%) and pH (3, 6, 9) on the release of 20 aroma compounds from oil-in-water emulsions was studied. The release under equilibrium and mouth conditions was measured by equilibrium headspace analysis and in a model mouth system combined with gas chromatography, respectively. Six alcohols, five ketones, four esters, three aldehydes, one terpene and one sulfur compound were investigated. Differences between compounds depended more on chain length than on functional group. The presence of β-lactoglobulin affected the aroma release under both equilibrium and mouth conditions. Its concentration had a significant effect under equilibrium conditions but not under mouth conditions, which was attributed to the extinguishing effect of the artificial saliva added. The pH did not affect the aroma release at all.