Investigation of physical stability of Pickering emulsion based on soy protein/β‐glucan/coumarin ternary complexes under subcritical water condition

Insight into oil-water interfacial adsorption of protein particles towards regulating Pickering emulsions: A review

Over the past decade, Pickering emulsions (PEs) stabilized by protein particles have been the focus of researches. The characteristics of protein particles at the oil-water interface are crucial for stabilizing PEs. The unique adsorption behaviors of protein particles and various modification methods enable oil-water interface to exhibit controllable regulation strategies. However, from the perspective of the interface, studies on the regulation of PEs by the adsorption behaviors of protein particles at oil-water interface are limited. Therefore, this review provides an in-depth study on oil-water interfacial adsorption of protein particles and their regulation on PEs. Specifically, the formation of interfacial layer and effects of their interfacial characteristics on PEs stabilized by protein particles are elaborated. Particularly, complicated behaviors, including adsorption, arrangement and deformation of protein particles at the oil-water interface are the premise of affecting the formation of interfacial layer. Moreover, the particle size, surface charge, shape and wettability greatly affect interfacial adsorption behaviors of protein particles. Importantly, stabilities of protein particles-based PEs also depend on properties of interfacial layers, including interfacial layer thickness and interfacial rheology. This review provides useful insights for the development of PEs stabilized by protein particles based on interfacial design.

Pickering emulsion stabilized by casein-caffeic acid covalent nanoparticles to enhance the bioavailability of curcumin in vitro and in vivo

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the design of food-grade Pickering emulsion delivery systems has become an effective strategy for improving the low bioavailability of bioactive substances. Protein-based Pickering emulsions have received extensive attention because of a high biocompatibility and loading capacity. The bioavailability of active substances is mainly evaluated by simulating in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. As a model organism for antioxidation and anti-aging, Caenorhabditis elegans can provide additional biological information for the in vivo utilization of active substances.

RESULTS

After the introduction of caffeic acid, the average particle size and Zeta potential of the casein-caffeic acid covalent complex nanoparticles (CCP) were 171.11 nm and - 37.73 mV, respectively. The three-phase contact angle was also increased to 89.8°. By using CCP to stabilize Pickering emulsion (CCE), the retention quantity of the embedded curcumin increased by 2.19-fold after 28 days. In the simulated gastric digestion, curcumin degradation in CCE was reduced by 61.84%, released slowly in the intestinal environment, and the final bioaccessibility was increased by 1.90-fold. In C. elegans, CCE significantly reduced ROS accumulation, increased SOD activity by 2.01-fold and CAT activity by 2.30-fold, decreased MDA content by 36.76%, prolonging the lifespan of nematodes by 13.33% under H₂ O₂ stimulation and improving bioavailability in vivo.

CONCLUSION

The results indictae that CCP-stabilized Pickering emulsion can efficiently implement the physiological activities of bioactive compounds in vitro digestion and C. elegans, and thus it can be regarded as a reliable delivery system for food and medicine. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Whey Protein Isolate Nanofibers Prepared by Subcritical Water Stabilized High Internal Phase Pickering Emulsion to Deliver Curcumin

This study aimed to design a Pickering emulsion (PE) stabilized by whey protein isolate nanofibers (WPINs) prepared with subcritical water (SW) to encapsulate and prevent curcumin (Cur) degradation. Cur-loaded WPINs–SW stabilized PE (WPINs–SW–PE) and hydrothermally prepared WPINs stabilized PE (WPINs–H–PE) were characterized using the particle size, zeta potential, Congo Red, CD, and TEM. The results indicated that WPINs–SW–PE and WPINs–H–PE showed regular spherical shapes with average lengths of 26.88 ± 1.11 μm and 175.99 ± 2.31 μm, and zeta potential values were −38.00 ± 1.00 mV and −34.60 ± 2.03 mV, respectively. The encapsulation efficiencies of WPINs–SW–PE and WPINs–H–PE for Cur were 96.72 ± 1.05% and 94.07 ± 2.35%. The bio-accessibility of Cur of WPINs–SW–PE and WPINs–H–PE were 57.52 ± 1.24% and 21.94 ± 2.09%. In addition, WPINs–SW–PE had a better loading effect and antioxidant activities compared with WPINs–H–PE. SW could be a potential processing method to prepare a PE, laying the foundation for the subsequent production of functional foods.