In this study, conjugates were prepared via dry heat-induced glycosylation with maltodextrin (MD) to enhance the functional properties of sesame meal protein extract (SMPE). With the progress of conjugation, the specific protein bands of SMPE decreased and new bands appeared in the higher molecular weight range (approximately 170 kDa). The FT-IR spectra confirmed the structural modifications resulting from Maillard reaction-driven covalent bonding between SMPE and MD. The solubility and emulsifying properties—emulsifying activity index (EAI) and emulsifying stability index (ESI)—of the conjugates showed little variation with dry-heat treatment time, but they were significantly influenced by the dextrose equivalent (DE) of MD. Solubility was highest when SMPE was conjugated with MD of DE 4–7 at both 12 h (19.38%) and 24 h (20.54%) and decreased as DE increased. Notably, the three-way ANOVA results showed that the emulsifying properties improved significantly with higher DE of MD. The EAI and ESI of SMPE conjugated with MD of DE 16.5–19.5 increased by 1.52- and 1.41-fold, respectively, when compared with the control SMPE. These findings suggest that the SMPE-MD conjugates have promising potential for applications in food systems that require enhanced emulsifying properties.

Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
    Materials
    Preparation of SMPE-maltodextrin conjugates
    SDS-PAGE analysis
    Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopicanalysis
    Solubility
    Emulsifying properties
    Statistical analysis
Results and Discussion
    Molecular weight profile of SMPE-MD conjugates
    Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
    Solubility of SMPE-MD conjugates
    Emulsifying properties of SMPE-MD conjugates
Conclusion
References

• Da-Rea Kim(Department of Biosystems Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Convergence Major in Global Smart Farm, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
• Hyun-Su Choi(Department of Biosystems Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Convergence Major in Global Smart Farm, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea)
• Yong-Ro Kim(Department of Biosystems Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Convergence Major in Global Smart Farm, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Center for Food and Bioconvergence, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea, Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea) Corresponding author
• Shin-Joung Rho(Center for Food and Bioconvergence, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea) Corresponding author