Abstract: In the present study, rabbit skin collagen was analyzed for its processing characteristics. The results showed that the water absorption capacity of rabbit skin collagen was 14.89 mL/g. The collagen had a high solubility in acidic environment, especially at pH 3, and the solubility was decreased to 50% in alkaline environment. Ionic strength had a significant effect on the solubility of the collagen. At NaCl concentrations in the range of 0?2 g/100 mL, the solubility of the collagen remained relatively stable, whereas it decreased sharply with NaCl concentration up to 4 g/100 mL, and then did not change significantly at NaCl concentrations higher than 4 g/100 mL. The emulsifying capacity of the skin collagen increased with its concentration up to 1 g/100 mL, and then it began to decline with further increasing its concentration, but the opposite trend was observed for emulsion stability. Both emulsifying properties decreased with increasing pH from 3 to 6 and then gradually increased to a plateau with further increasing pH to 9. Emulsifying capacity presented a decreasing trend after an initial increase with NaCl concentration up to 7.02 g/100 mL, while emulsion stability remained stable after an initial increase. Both emulsifying capacity and emulsion stability were good at a NaCl concentration of 5.85 g/100 mL.

Key words: collagen, water absorption capacity, solubility, emulsification