Thiol-dependent Gelation of Egg White

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Abstract
It was found that thiol reagents such as 2-mercaptoethanol induce the gelation of egg white at low temperatures that do not induce thermal denaturation. The thiol-dependent gelation was highly dependent on pH. Analyses by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed that gel matrices formed at pH 7~9 are mainly composed of conalbumin. In addition, purified conalbumin formed a fine gel by incubation with 2-mercaptoethanol at 35°C, and the gelation of both conalbumin and egg white was strongly inhibited by saturating the two iron-binding sites of conalbumin. Therefore, we concluded that conalbumin is a major component in the thiol-dependent gelation of egg white.