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Characterization of the interaction between tartrazine and β-lactoglobulin under different pH conditions: multispectral analysis and computer simulation

Ya-Ting Liu, Na Gan, Peiran Liu, Junjie Xu, Fang Geng, Di Wu

Current Research in Food Science, 2026

Abstract

Unraveling the interaction mechanism between the food azo dye tartrazine (Tz) and β-lactoglobulin (β-LG) under varying pH conditions is crucial for understanding their safe application in food systems. Molecular docking indicated that Tz primarily bound to the β-hydrophobic barrel of β-LG. The protonation of lysine residues diminished with increasing pH, which reduced hydrogen bond formation. The binding energy decreased from 8.77 kcal/mol (pH 2.0) to 8.43 kcal/mol (pH 7.4). Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that Tz bound exerts the greatest structural influence on β-LG at pH 2.0. Fluorescence and thermodynamic analyses confirmed that Tz quenched β-LG fluorescence through a static mechanism, through their interaction was a spontaneous process driven mainly by hydrophobic forces. The protonation level of β-LG gradually decreased with increasing pH, and electrostatic repulsion between β-LG and Tz was observed at pH 7.4. As a result, the binding constant between Tz and β-LG decreased from 6.669 × 105 L/mol (pH 2.0) to 3.596 × 105 L/mol (pH 5.2) and 0.956 × 105 L/mol (pH 7.4), respectively. Furthermore, Tz induced changes in the secondary structure content of β-LG and reduced its surface hydrophobicity under all pH conditions.

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