Titration Curves and Turbidity of Whole Egg White

Abstract

TITRATION curves represent the amount of acid or base required to produce a unit change in the pH of a system. The curves presented here were obtained from the titration of whole egg white and were constructed to illustrate the buffering capacities at different pH values. Several points of interest have been identified for comparative purposes. The pH of egg white is important both in research investigations and in processing operations. Variations in pH are responsible for major changes in the physical properties of whole egg white and of individual proteins. Turbidity (cloudiness) and thinning of thick white are examples of changes in physical properties. The pH of egg white is adjusted to facilitate the isoelectric precipitation of specific proteins, to produce the type of functional property desired, and to enhance certain processing techniques such as enzymatic desurgarization with the glucose oxidase-catalase system. Several excellent reviews of protein titration curves …