Characteristics, formation mechanism and stability of high internal phase emulsions stabilized by porcine plasma protein (PPP) / carrageenan (CG) hybrid particles

High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) stabilized by nanoparticles based on biomacromolecules are challenging issues in recent decade. Herein, a newly developed HIPE was investigated by using heat-denatured porcine plasma protein (PPP) nanoparticles at pH 6.5 as emulsifier, and its emulsifying stability could be significantly enhanced by compounding carrageenan (CG). In the miscible system, PPP and CG formed hybrid particles through non-covalent interaction, and the sizes and zeta-potentials of the particles increased significantly along with addition of CG (from 0 to 0.7%, w/v), reached up to about 3.6 mu m and-53 mV at 0.5% (w/v), respectively. CG weakened the ability of PPP to lower interfacial tension of oil/water (O/W), but increased the apparent viscosity of the system. The results from CLSM, rheology and stability experiments indicated a significant increasing trend of the HIPEs stability and solid-like characteristics along with addition of CG. Compared with the controls including bovine serum albumin (BSA), BSA-CG and CG alone, PPP-CG hybrid particles had good performance in fabricating and stabilizing the HIPEs. The work revealed the novel function of PPP as emulsifier of HIPEs and so offered the theoretical direction for application of PPP as a mass by-product, as well as an excellent HIPEs system for food, medicine and cosmetics fields.

Automated summary

The study found that the combination of heat-denatured porcine plasma protein nanoparticles and carrageenan can significantly enhance the emulsifying stability and solid-like characteristics of high internal phase emulsions. The hybrid particles of PPP-CG showed excellent performance in preparing high internal phase emulsions.