Effects of Pulsed Electric Field and Cold Plasma Treatments on Goat Milk: A Study Based on Microflora, Quality, Flavor and Protein Digestion

Abstract

The study focused on the effects of pulsed electric field (PEF) and cold plasma (CP) treatments on the microflora, physicochemical and sensory properties, bioactive protein content, endogenous enzyme activity, and protein digestion of goat milk. The most effective microbial inactivation achieved at PEF 22 kV/120 s and CP at 24 V/25 min. The diversity of the microbial community was also significantly reduced after both PEF and CP treatments, with the PEF group exhibiting a similar flora composition to raw milk. Compared to heat treatment, PEF treatment retained more bioactive proteins, color and volatile components. However, CP treatment was more effective than PEF treatment in inactivating endogenous enzymes and enhancing protein digestion. The disappearance and reduced abundance of certain bioactive peptides were observed following both PEF and CP treatments. These findings demonstrated that PEF and CP treatments both were potential to replace pasteurization for goat milk.

Keywords: Pulsed electric field, Cold plasma, Goat milk, Microbiota, quality, digestion