Effects of emulsifier hydrophile-lipophile balance and emulsifier concentration on the distributions of gallic acid, propyl gallate, and α-tocopherol in corn oil emulsions

Distribution and Antioxidant Efficiency of Resveratrol in Stripped Corn Oil Emulsions

We investigated the effects of resveratrol (RES) on the oxidative stability of emulsions composed of stripped corn oil, acidic water and Tween 20 and determined its distribution in the intact emulsions by employing a well-established kinetic method. The distribution of RES is described by two partition constants, that between the oil-interfacial region, PO(I), and that between the aqueous and interfacial region, PW(I). The partition constants, PO(I) and PW(I), are obtained in the intact emulsions from the variations of the observed rate constant, kobs, for the reaction between the hydrophobic 4-hexadecylbenzenediazonium ion and RES with the emulsifier volume fraction, ФI. The obtained PO(I) and PW(I) values are quite high, PW(I) = 4374 and PO(I) = 930, indicating that RES is primarily located in the interfacial region of the emulsions, %RESI > 90% at ФI = 0.005, increasing up to 99% at ФI = 0.04. The oxidative stability of the corn oil emulsions was determined by measuring the formation of conjugated dienes at a given time in the absence and in the presence of RES. The addition of RES did not improve their oxidative stability in spite that more than 90% of RES is located in the interfacial region of the emulsion, because of the very low radical scavenging activity of RES.

Maxima in antioxidant distributions and efficiencies with increasing hydrophobicity of gallic acid and its alkyl esters. The pseudophase model interpretation of the "cutoff effect"

Antioxidant (AO) efficiencies are reported to go through maxima with increasing chain length (hydrophobicity) in emulsions. The so-called "cutoff" after the maxima, indicating a decrease in efficiency, remains unexplained. This paper shows, for gallic acid (GA) and propyl, octyl, and lauryl gallates (PG, OG, and LG, respectively), that at any given volume fraction of emulsifier, the concentrations of antioxidants in the interfacial region of stripped corn oil emulsions and their efficiency order follow PG > GA > OG > LG. These results provide clear evidence that an AO's efficiency correlates with its fraction in the interfacial region. AO distributions were obtained in intact emulsions by using the pseudophase kinetic model to interpret changes in observed rate constants of the AOs with a chemical probe, and their efficiencies were measured by employing the Schaal oven test. The model provides a natural explanation for the maxima with increasing AO hydrophobicity.