Pulsed Electric Field Enhanced Cross‐Linking of Alginate and Fish Gelatin for Anti‐Oxidative Activities and Entrapment of Nutrients

ABSTRACT Pulsed electric field (PEF) processing has emerged as a promising non‐thermal technology capable of modifying biomolecular structures and enhancing functional properties in food systems. In this study, PEF was applied to fabricate cross‐linked alginate–fish gelatin materials, and their structural characteristics, antioxidative activity, and nutrient entrapment capacity were compared with those produced using conventional homogenization. Structural analysis revealed that PEF processing generated smaller particle sizes (~80 nm) compared with homogenization (250–550 nm) and produced more compact microstructures with lower surface area (4678.3 vs. 8230.2 m 2 /g) and porosity (0.0973 vs. 0.2366 cm 3 /g). These structural differences significantly improved the functional performance of the material. Nutrient entrapment capacity increased from 21% to 33% for minerals and from 15% to 24% for vitamins in PEF‐treated samples compared with homogenized samples. In addition, antioxidative activity measured by FRAP and ABTS assays showed a notable enhancement in PEF‐processed materials. The results demonstrate that PEF can effectively promote protein–polysaccharide interactions and improve the structural and functional properties of alginate–fish gelatin complexes. This study provides a novel non‐thermal strategy for developing protein–polysaccharide materials with enhanced nutrient delivery and antioxidative functionality for food applications.