Dispersion and oxidative stability of O/W emulsions and oxidation of microencapsulated oil

Ingredient-Dependent Extent of Lipid Oxidation in Margarine

This study reports the impact of margarine-representative ingredients on its oxidative stability and green tea extract as a promising antioxidant in margarine. Oil-in-water emulsions received much attention regarding factors that influence their oxidative stability, however, water-in-oil emulsions have only been scarcely investigated. Margarine, a widely consumed water-in-oil emulsion, consists of 80-90% fat and is thermally treated when used for baking. As different types of margarine contain varying additives, their impact on the oxidative stability of margarine during processing is of pressing importance. Thus, the influence of different ingredients, such as emulsifiers, antioxidants, citric acid, β-carotene and NaCl on the oxidative stability of margarine, heated at 80 °C for 1 h to accelerate lipid oxidation, was analyzed by the peroxide value and oxidation induction time. We found that monoglycerides influenced lipid oxidation depending on their fatty acyl chain. α-Tocopheryl acetate promoted lipid oxidation, while rosemary and green tea extract led to the opposite. Whereas green tea extract alone showed the most prominent antioxidant effect, combinations of green tea extract with citric acid, β-carotene or NaCl increased lipid oxidation in margarine. Complementary, NMR data suggested that polyphenols in green tea extracts might decrease lipid mobility at the surface of the water droplets, which might lead to chelating of transition metals at the interface and decreasing lipid oxidation.

Effects of Sodium Chloride and Acetic Acid Concentrations on Dispersion Stability of Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise is an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion containing oil at the weight fraction of about 70%, which is stable for over a year when stored at room temperature. The stability examination of more stable mayonnaise can be time-consuming. Mayonnaise rapidly separates into oil and aqueous phases when water in the mayonnaise evaporates, which increases the ionic strength of the aqueous phase and reduces electrostatic repulsion among oil droplets. Simulating this phenomenon under reduced pressure, the stability of mayonnaises with different sodium chloride concentrations [0, 1, 3, 5 or 8% (kg/kg-aqueous phase)] and acetic acid concentrations [0, 1, 5, 10, 15 or 20% (kg/kg-acetic acid solution)] was evaluated by comparing the duration of time before each mayonnaise sample separated into oil and aqueous phases. The durations (destabilization times) correlated with the sodium chloride concentrations for mayonnaises with 1% (kg/kg-acetic acid solution) acetic acid solution. Destabilization times were independent of the sodium chloride concentration, however, for mayonnaises with greater than 10% (kg/kg-acetic acid solution) acetic acid solution. The differences in destabilization times were ascribed to denaturation of egg yolk granules. The destabilization time of commercially available mayonnaise can be similarly explained. The results of this study, which showed that the increase in the ionic strength of the aqueous phase by evaporation assessed the stability of mayonnaise in expedition way, were consistent with previously reported findings.

Valorization of okara oil for the encapsulation of Lactobacillus plantarum

Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions of okara oil-caseinate (1:2; 1:3 and 1:4 O/W ratios) were used to encapsulate Lactobacillus plantarum CIDCA 83114. Once encapsulated, microorganisms were freeze-dried or spray-dried, and observed by scanning electronic and confocal microscopies. A physical characterization of the dehydrated capsules was carried out by determining their moisture content, water activity, particle size, polydispersity index and zeta potential. Determining the induction times and peroxide values provided information about their susceptibility to oxidation. In turn, bacterial stability was analyzed by plate counting before and after freeze-drying and spray-drying, and during storage at 4°C. Spray-dried emulsions had lower Z-sizes and polydispersity indexes, higher induction times and lower peroxide values than the freeze-dried ones, thus resulting better systems to protect L. plantarum CIDCA 83114. In addition, the culturability of spray-dried bacteria did not decrease neither after spray-drying nor up to 60days of storage at 4°C. The results showed that the better physical-chemical stability of spray-dried capsules determined the greater stability of microorganisms. This demonstrates the importance of defining adequate emulsions' formulations for an efficient encapsulation of microorganisms, with promising applications in the development of novel functional foods.