| Title |
Pressure-induced structural and rheological changes in homogenized agar and agar-collagen fluid gels for dysphagia diets |
| Authors |
Dyglė, Gintarė ; Jūrienė, Laura ; Petrikaitė, Vilma ; Eisinaitė, Viktorija ; Leskauskaitė, Daiva |
| DOI |
10.1016/j.foostr.2026.100545 |
| Full Text |
|
| Is Part of |
Food structure.. Amsterdam : Elsevier. 2026, vol. 49, art. no. 100545, p. 1-12.. ISSN 2213-3291 |
| Keywords [eng] |
Dysphagia ; Fluid gel ; High protein ; High-pressure homogenization ; Swallowing behavior |
| Abstract [eng] |
This study investigated the potential of high-pressure homogenization as a post-production modification to reduce particle size and enhance swallow-related properties of agar-based fluid gels. The effects of pressures ranging from 10 to 60 MPa on the stability, structural changes, and swallow-related rheological characteristics of dysphagia-oriented pre-prepared agar (1.5%) and agar-collagen (20%) fluid gels were examined. High-pressure homogenization reduced agar particle size, enhancing interactions among new agar domains. Droplet size and microstructural analyses showed that higher pressures produced smaller particles, which then re-aggregated after reaching a critical concentration. However, adding collagen prevented this re-aggregation, with particle size decreasing from 182.76 to 65.82 µm as pressure increased from 0 to 60 MPa. All treated fluid gels exhibited viscoelastic behavior, with pressure increasing viscosity—up to 4.5 in agar and twice as much in agar-collagen fluid gels—and samples transitioned from Level 2 to Level 3, according to the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) testing. Furthermore, pressure-induced structural changes enhanced fluid gel stability under dynamic conditions, increasing it from 74.11% to 84.98% in agar and from 48.85% to 68.08% in agar-collagen fluid gels. These findings offer valuable insights into how post-processing high-pressure homogenization can reduce droplet size, enhance palatability, and preserve swallowing safety, influencing the properties of formulated fluid gels without requiring additional thickeners. |
| Published |
Amsterdam : Elsevier |
| Type |
Journal article |
| Language |
English |
| Publication date |
2026 |
| CC license |
|
