Impact of chemical composition of xanthan and acacia gums on the emulsification and stability of oil-in-water emulsions

Xanthan gum (GX) and acacia gum (GA) are widely employed in food industry, indeed xanthan gum is used for its thickening properties of aqueous solutions and acacia gum for its emulsifying ability. The present work aims to study the effect of GX-GA mixtures on the stability of oil-in-water (o/w) emulsions; attention is particularly focused on the impact of the chemical structure of each gum. Emulsion stability has been evaluated by monitoring the evolution of droplet size and viscometric properties over time when submitted to accelerated ageing conditions. On the one hand results show that the higher the ArabinoGalactanProtein (AGP) content the more stable the emulsion as observed when GA is used alone. On the other hand, we proved, unexpectedly, that the most viscous aqueous phase does not exhibit the best emulsion stability. Besides, we clearly evidenced the presence of specific interactions between GX and GA in both emulsion and aqueous solution, these interactions being governed by the gums chemical composition. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.