Evaluation of the effect of microbial transglutaminase enzyme and whey protein concentrate on sponge cake texture characteristics based on image processing

Jooyandeh, Hossein; Abdanan Mahdizadeh, Saman; Saniee, Sara

doi:10.22104/ift.2026.8007.2254

Evaluation of the effect of microbial transglutaminase enzyme and whey protein concentrate on sponge cake texture characteristics based on image processing

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

¹ Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan

² Associate Professor, Department of Mechanics of Biosystems Engineering, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran

³ MSc., Department of Food Science and Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran

10.22104/ift.2026.8007.2254

Abstract

Evaluation of cakes based on image processing provides the possibility of objective and reproducible measurement of appearance characteristics such as color uniformity and texture indicators, and as a result, it provides the basis for applying more precise and simple control over the quality of the product. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of transglutaminase (TG) and whey protein concentrate (WPC) additives on the textural characteristics of sponge cake according to the color characteristics of the product. In this research, the effect of TG enzyme treatment (0%, 0.05% and 0.1%) and addition of WPC (0%, 10% and 20%) on improving the uniformity, homogeneity and texture quality of sponge cake was analyzed based on the evaluation of structural changes using the gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) method. The findings indicated that TG reduced the contrast and increased correlation and order in the tissue by creating covalent bonds; while WPC, by forming hydrogen and hydrophobic bonds, reduced prominence, increased energy and contrast compared to TG. The treatments containing higher percentages of TG and WPC had more uniformity, and among them, treatments T36 and T27 showed the best performance. Although the values related to some tables were not statistically significant, the gradual improvement process was clearly visible and WPC played a stronger effect in reducing tissue changes. These findings were consistent with previous studies and the decrease in contrast and entropy and increase in correlation with the addition of TG and WPC were confirmed. Finally, the combination of these two additives was introduced as an effective tool to improve the quality of cake texture.

Keywords