The aim of this research work was to study the feasibility of the application of defatted wheat germ flour (DWGF) alone or in combination with xanthan gum (XG) as egg yolk substitutes in mayonnaise formulation. In this research, DWGF was used at different levels (0, 25, 75 and 100 %) alone or in combination with the XG (0.2 %) as egg substitutes. The effects of these substitutions on stability, textural and rheological characteristics of mayonnaise were investigated. According to the results, DWGF can be used as an egg yolk substitutes in mayonnaise. The combination of DWGF and XG as egg yolk substitutes, improved the stability, textural and rheological properties. Mayonnaise with 100% egg yolk replacement showed the hardest structure, while the lowest firmness value was obtained in control containing 100% egg yolk. Also, the highest adhesiveness value occurred in sample with 100% DWGF. The thixotropic behavior was observed for all investigated mayonnaise samples over the all ranges of the studied shear rate (0.05-450 s-1). Furthermore, the highest content of consistency coefficient value was observed in sample with 100% DWGF and 0.2% XG. Therefore, it can be concluded that low cholesterol mayonnaise with proper stability, textural and rheological characteristics is achievable by application a desirable combination of DWGF and XG.
