Self-Emulsification of Alkaline-Dissolved Clove Bud Oil by Whey Protein, Gum Arabic, Lecithin, and Their Combinations

Low-cost emulsification technologies using food ingredients are critical to various applications. In the present study, a novel self-emulsification technique was studied to prepare clove bud oil (CBO) emulsions, without specialized equipment or organic solvents. CBO was first dissolved in hot alkaline solutions, added at 1% v/v into neutral solutions with 1% w/v emulsifier composed of whey protein concentrate (WPC), gum arabic, lecithin, or their equal mass mixtures, and adjusted to pH 7.0. The self-emulsification process did not affect UV-vis absorption spectrum, reversed-phase HPLC chromatogram, or antimicrobial activity of CBO against Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes Scott A, and Salmonella Enteritidis. The entrapment efficiency after extraction by petroleum ether was determined to be about 80%. Most emulsions were stable during 7 days of storage. Emulsions prepared with WPC had smaller particles, whereas emulsions prepared with emulsifier mixtures had more stable particle dimensions. The studied self-emulsification technique may find numerous applications in the preparation of low-cost food emulsions.