Improvement of Functional Properties of Ovotransferrin by Phosphorylation through Dry-heating in the Presence of Pyrophosphate

Ovotransferrin (OTf) was phosphorylated by dry-heating in the presence of pyrophosphate at pH 4.0 and $85^{\circ}C$ for 1 and 5 d, and the functional properties of phosphorylated OTf (PP-OTf) were investigated. The phosphorus content of OTf increased to 0.91% as a result of phosphorylation and the electrophoretic mobility of PP-OTf also increased. Although the solubility of dry-heated OTf slightly decreased, the decrease was reduced by phosphorylation. The stability against heat-induced insolubilization of OTf was somewhat improved by phosphorylation, but more than 70% of PP-OTf was insolubilized when it was heated at $70^{\circ}C$ for 10 min at pH 7.0. However, heat-induced insolubilization of PP-OTf was reduced when it was heated in the presence of phosphorylated ovalbumin. This may explain the excellent stability of phosphorylated egg white protein against heat-induced insolubilization which was reported previously. The emulsifying property of OTf was also somewhat improved by phosphorylation. The calcium phosphate-solubilizing ability of PP-OTf was enhanced. Although the degree of phosphorylation of OTf by dry-heating in the presence of pyrophosphate was similar to that of ovalbumin, the improvement of properties of PP-OTf was considerably different from those of phosphorylated ovalbumin.