# Gelation of fava bean protein and impact of gelling agent on rheological properties of the gels

Alban Fiscarelli, Solange Buchin, Florence Husson, Rémi Saurel

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Alban Fiscarelli, Solange Buchin, Florence Husson, Rémi Saurel. Gelation of fava bean protein and impact of gelling agent on rheological properties of the gels. 29ème édition du Forum des Jeunes Chercheurs (FJC), Jun 2024, Dijon, France. hal-05246922

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Submitted on 9 Sep 2025

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Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
# Gelation of fava bean protein and impact of gelling agent on rheological properties of the gels

Alban FISCARELLI, Solange BUCHIN, Florence HUSSON, Rémi SAUREL

## Introduction

Interest in plant-based products have been growing recently with the need for humans to change their way of consuming proteins for different purposes, such as environment and animal welfare. Legumes are one of the solutions that were found to meet this new demand and fava bean presents interesting characteristics with its high protein content (up to 30% of the seed). One of the challenges with plant proteins is their gelling abilities that can be used to reproduce meat or dairy products and little research has still been done on these properties of fava bean proteins. Thus, plant-based cheese is a trending subject in the world. Its European market value was estimated at 873 millions euros in 2019, which shows that research on this field is mandatory. This study is set in a global project that aims at making plant-based cheeses using fermentation and cold-set gelation with fava bean proteins. The first step is the understanding of fava bean gel formation by using bivalent salts.

## Material & Methods

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## Results & Discussion

### Type of proteins

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SDS-PAGE
electrophoresis

a : Vestkorn protein concentrate

b : Extraction of proteins through solubilisation at pH 7,5 and centrifugation

c : emulsion with sunflower oil

' = β-mercaptoethanol and denaturation at 90°C for 10 min (reducing conditions)

* The extraction method seems to keep every type of proteins from the concentrate(2)

* The emulsion is mostly made of aggregates but some types are still present like the α-legumine, the conviciline and the viciline.

### Gels Composition after pressing

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* The target value is 54% of dry matter (Uncooked pressed cheese, like raclette)

* The protein value determined by Kjeldahl method is ~45% of dry matter content

* Fat content determined by Gerber method is ~50% of dry matter

### Texture profile analysis

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* The coco and sunflower gel seems to be firmer than the raclette control and have a better recovery which could be unpleasant when eaten

### Distribution of particule sizes in emulsions

<figure><img src="image_6.png" /></figure>

Adding of SDS to see the difference between aggregates and emulsion

<figure><img src="image_7.png" /></figure>

* Microfluidization plays a role in the stabilization of emulsions(3)

* There is no peculiar difference in the size of emulsion particules when the oil used is different

* Margarine will be replaced by a mix of coconut and sunflower as the mix is too complexe to analyse

## Conclusion

* Development of a plant-based gel matrix composed of fava bean protein and plant oil with a composition similar to raclette cheese

* Dynamic analysis will be conducted to assess the effect of varying concentrations of gelling agents on the viscosity of the fava bean protein solution

* Different types and concentration of oil will be evaluated for their impact on the color and the rheological caracteristic of the gel

* Fermentation will be added to the process as a method of gelation, expected to enhance the flavour, texture and aspect of the plant-based cheese.

## References

(1) Sharan, S., Zanghelini, G., Zotzel, J., Bonerz, D., Aschoff, J., Saint-Eve, A., Maillard, M.-N., 2021. Fava bean (Vicia faba L.) for food applications: From seed to ingredient processing and its effect on functional properties, antinutritional factors, flavor, and color. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety 20 (1), 401-428. DOI 10.1111/1541-4337.12687

(2) Ayala-Rodríguez, V.A., López-Hernández, A.A., López-Cabanillas Lomelí, M., González-Martínez, B.E., Vázquez-Rodríguez, J.A., 2022. Nutritional quality of protein flours of fava bean (Vicia faba L.) and in vitro digestibility and bioaccessibility. Food Chemistry: X 14, 100303. DOI 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100303

(3) Oliete, B., Potin, F., Cases, E., Saurel, R., 2019. Microfluidization as Homogenization Technique in Pea Globulin-Based Emulsions. Food and Bioprocess Technology 12 (5), 877-882. DOI 10.1007/s11947-019-02265-3

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DIVVA

The authors thank the DIVVA plateform (Institut Agro Dijon, Université de Bourgogne) for access to various equipments

The authors thank FROMEX Platform (INRAE, L'institut Agro Dijon, Université de Bourgogne) (https://minifromagerie-poligny.hub.inrae.fr/) for its expertise and resources in carrying out the experimental work described in this study.