1College of Life Science, Yantai University, Yantai 264000, China
2Beijing Key Laboratory of Functional Food from Plant Resources, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China
Calcium fortification of plant proteins such as soybean 11S globulin (glycinin) represents a promising nutritional strategy but often compromises protein functionality due to calcium-induced aggregation. To mitigate this, we developed a two-step process: first preparing high-calcium glycinin (14.18 mg/g), followed by hot-alkali (HA) treatment to enhance its properties. While initial calcium loading reduced protein solubility by 40.84%, subsequent HA modification effectively restored it to 93.29% by inducing structural reconformation, including tertiary structure unfolding and increased α-helix content. These changes significantly improved the emulsifying, foaming, and gelling properties of glycinin. Moreover, HA treatment increased the calcium-binding capacity by 2.2-fold compared to the native protein. This study demonstrates that hot-alkali modification is a highly effective method for producing a multifunctional soy glycinin ingredient with superior techno-functional performance and enhanced nutritional potential for fortified foods.