Ovalbumiini

Ovalbumiini, also known as ovalbumin, is the principal protein of egg white (albumen). It is a water-soluble glycoprotein that accounts for about 50 to 60 percent of the total protein content of egg white and roughly 10 percent of the egg’s weight. It is produced in the hen’s oviduct and secreted into the forming egg.

Chemically, ovalbumin is a single polypeptide chain of about 386 amino acids with a native molecular weight around 45 kilodaltons. The protein contains disulfide bonds and carbohydrate groups, making it a glycoprotein. It remains soluble in water under physiological conditions but is sensitive to heat and pH, undergoing conformational changes that can lead to aggregation and gelation when heated.

In food science and nutrition, ovalbumin contributes to the texture, viscosity, and foam stability of egg white. During cooking, heating causes denaturation and coagulation of ovalbumin, which helps form the characteristic solid structure of cooked egg white and influences foaming properties in meringues and related foods.

Ovalbumin is also a well-known allergen in humans and is often designated as Gal d 2 in allergen databases. As a model protein, it is widely used in research on protein folding, thermal denaturation, gel formation, and allergenicity. In laboratory settings, it serves as a standard protein for electrophoresis, chromatography, and various protein chemistry experiments.