Review of Food Surfactants on Improving Protein Powder Solubility

As an important nutritional and functional base for food, protein powders are widely used in the food processing industry. However, the solubility of protein powders is reduced during the dissolution process due to lumping and agglomeration caused by interfacial effects, which severely limits the application and economic value of food proteins. Food surfactants can effectively bind protein powders and reduce the interfacial effects that occur during the dissolution process. Therefore, food surfactants can be more widely used to improve the solubility of protein powders. This paper reviews the main types of food surfactants, their mechanism of action on protein binding, and their effects on the various stages of protein powder solubilization, intending to provide a theoretical reference for the application of food surfactants in highly soluble protein powders.