CALCIUM CASEINATE: STRUCTURE, PROPERTIES, OBTAINING AND USES - CHEMISTRY - 2025

The calcium caseinate is a complex organic compound consisting of carbon atoms (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), phosphorus (P), nitrogen (N), sulfur (S) and calcium (Ca). It is a derivative of caseins, a group of proteins found in mammalian milk.

Calcium caseinate is very soluble in water. Its aqueous solutions are white and milk-like in appearance. It has the ability to form very thin solid films. For this reason it is used to protect or keep fresh some foods such as apples, vegetable sticks, cereal bars, peanuts, almonds, etc.

Calcium caseinate is obtained from milk. Author: Couleur. Source: Pixabay.

It can also form emulsions or creams and is used to control the acidity of foods such as yogurts, creamy cheeses, whipped creams, among others. It allows to prepare products that imitate some types of cheese.

Due to its high nutritional value, calcium caseinate has been used to feed children in a state of malnutrition, restoring them to health. It can also be used with other compounds to encapsulate some medicines and prevent the person who ingests them from feeling their bitter taste.

People allergic to casein in milk should not consume calcium caseinate.

Composition and structure

Calcium caseinate is a derivative of casein, a protein found in mammalian milk. It's actually a group of specific milk proteins.

Composition

Being a protein, casein is made up of amino acids. The latter are organic compounds that have amino groups -NH ₂ and carboxyl groups -COOH, among others.

The amino acid composition of casein is specific to the animal species from which the milk comes. For this reason, casein that comes from human milk is different from that that comes from cow's milk.

Casein is obtained from milk at acidic pH and calcium caseinate is obtained by adding alkali to casein. Rauenstein / Public domain. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Calcium caseinate contains organic phosphates (R-PO ₄ H ₂) present in αs ₁ -, αs ₂ - and β-caseins, which differ from each other by their amino acid, phosphorous and carbohydrate contents.

In short, calcium caseinate is composed of the elements carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S) and calcium (Ca).

Structure

Caseins form complex particles or micelles, which are usually complexes of calcium caseinate and calcium phosphate Ca ₃ (PO ₄) ₂.

Calcium caseinate in water forms very small particles of 100-300 nm (nm = nanometers = 10 ^-9 meters) due to the binding influence of the calcium ion Ca ²⁺.

The structure of the micelles depends on the electrostatic action of the calcium ion, which has a double positive charge (Ca ²⁺).

Casein micelles. Wikikaos / CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Nomenclature

• Calcium caseinate

Properties

Physical state

Solid white.

Solubility

Calcium caseinate is very soluble in water.

Other properties

Calcium caseinate is hydrophilic, that is, it is related to water and dissolves easily in it.

It has the property of forming films with ease. However, its films are not very resistant to the passage of wet steam, but they are mechanically strong.

Calcium caseinate has been reported to be the only milk protein system that exhibits reversible thermal gelation properties. This means that with temperature it can gel (form a material similar to gelatin), but that this is reversible.

Calcium caseinate in ionic environments (that is, in the presence of ions) rearranges itself and forms groups or aggregates.

It is a very efficient emulsifier and can form stable foams.

Obtaining

Calcium caseinate is produced by neutralizing acidic casein with a calcium alkali. The solution obtained is a white and opaque colloidal dispersion, with an appearance very similar to milk.

In this way, a 20% calcium caseinate solution is prepared and subjected to spray drying, obtaining the calcium caseinate powder.

Intermediate forms of caseinate are also prepared in which the casein and alkali have reacted only partially, whereby a mixture of calcium caseinate and casein is obtained.

When milk coagulates or curdles as a result of heat, changes in pH or the effect of enzymes, casein is transformed into a complex of caseinate and calcium phosphate.

Uses in the food industry

Calcium caseinate is used in various foods where it fulfills various functions.

In edible movies

Calcium caseinate is used in edible films, as it provides mechanical toughness and flexibility.

Although calcium caseinate films by themselves cannot withstand the passage of moisture, they provide good mechanical strength or toughness and function as a barrier against oxygen, therefore they can prevent food degradation.

If calcium caseinate is used in conjunction with an oily or greasy material that repels or resists the passage of moisture vapor, the resulting film provides mechanical toughness, resistance to the passage of oxygen and serves as a barrier against moisture.

Cereal bars and nougats may be coated with a calcium caseinate film that serves as protection. Author: Anastasia Makarevich. Source: Pixabay.

It is used to coat fruits and vegetables to keep them fresh, for example coating apples, celery sticks and zucchini. Said film can be eaten.

It serves as an edible film for coconut, cereals, peanuts, almonds, acting as a barrier for liquids and flavors.

In food packaging

Calcium caseinate is also used as a film in biodegradable and flexible packaging, as it acts as a barrier against water, gases and microorganisms.

In obtaining emulsions

It acts in the formation of emulsions in coffee whiteners, desserts and whipped toppings. It is also used in the production of sausage skins.

Whipped cream may contain calcium caseinate as an emulsifier. Author: Devanath. Source: Pixabay.

In fermented foods

Calcium caseinate is often added to milk to control gelling (gel formation) during fermentation induced by bacteria cultures.

Fermented foods to which it is previously added are, for example, yogurts and creamy cheeses, among others.

Yogurt may contain calcium caseinate to control gelling. Author: Profet77. Source: Pixabay.

In food similar to cheese

Cheese-like edibles have been obtained by mixing calcium caseinate with butter oil. The product can be used in hamburgers, pizzas and sauces.

Cheese-like foods made with calcium caseinate are added to some hamburgers. Author: OpenClipart-Vectors. Source: Pixabay.

An imitation of Mozzarella cheese with calcium caseinate is also prepared.

In special foods

Calcium caseinate is used in food formulas for enteral nutrition.

Enteral nutrition is used in hospitals when a patient cannot eat. It is a therapeutic measure in which nutrients are administered directly into the gastrointestinal tract, that is, into the stomach or intestines, without passing through the mouth.

It has also been used to treat malnutrition in children, resulting in stopping diarrhea and edema in infants, and significantly improving their health.

Use in pharmaceutical applications

Calcium caseinate has been used successfully in conjunction with lecithin to encapsulate acetaminophen, a remedy used for fever and mild aches and pains.

Acetaminophen encapsulated with calcium caseinate is slowly released when ingested, allowing it to mask the bitter taste of the drug.

The calcium caseinate allows the acetaminophen tablets to be coated to prevent the bitter taste of the medicine from being perceived. Author: Stux. Source: Pixabay.

Use in industrial applications

Calcium caseinate was used in paper coating and in paint and leather finishing.

Allergy

Some people may be allergic to casein, that is, their body identifies it as a foreign compound and reactions such as itchy skin or throat, red eyelids and diarrhea, among other symptoms.

Casein as mentioned above is the protein of milk and is also found in cheeses and other dairy derivatives. People with a casein allergy should also avoid foods that contain calcium caseinate.

References

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