Abstract:To address the functional defects of chickpea protein (CP), including low solubility, poor emulsifying capacity, and foaming capacity, and thereby enhance its application value in food products, CP was subjected to ultrasonic treatment at different power levels (200~800 W) for a fixed duration of 10 min, and the improvement effect of ultrasonic treatment on the functional properties of CP and its stability under different environments were analyzed. The results showed that ultrasonic treatment at 600 W exhibited the optimal effect: compared with the untreated group, the solubility of CP increased from 42.01% to 74.79%; the emulsifying capacity and emulsion stability reached 75.98 m2•g-1 and 66.68%, respectively; the foaming capacity and foam stability increased to 80.56% and 63.44%, respectively. In terms of structure, the particle size of CP was reduced to 159.07 nm, the absolute value of ζ-potential was increased to 30.13 mV, and the contents of free sulfhydryl groups and surface hydrophobicity (H0) were increased by 1.49- and 1.51-fold, respectively. This indicates that ultrasonic treatment induced the protein depolymerization and the exposure of functional groups. In terms of environmental stability, temperature and pH had significant effects on the particle size and potential of CP after ultrasonic treatment, while the effect of salt concentration was relatively minor. In particular, treatment with 600 W ultrasonic treatment inhibited excessive aggregation at high temperatures and maintained excellent system stability across different pH conditions. This study demonstrated that ultrasonic treatment could effectively improve the structure, functional properties, and environmental adaptability of CP, thus providing a theoretical foundation for its popularization and application in the food industry.