Investigation of vanillin-loaded O/W, W/O, and W/O/W emulsion systems as a proof of concept for sugar reduction strategy: Preparation, characterization, and evaluation

Abstract

Achieving food sugar reduction based on odor-taste cross-modal interaction requires careful design of food emulsion systems, which are a promising delivery mechanism with controlled flavor release. Hence, we designed the single (O/W, W/O) and W/O/W double emulsions, which distributed the flavor component (vanillin) and sugar substitute (d-allulose) in the oil and aqueous phase, respectively. In this work. we acquired the optimal formulations for three emulsions and characterized the physical properties of each emulsion. Furthermore, we investigated the stability of three emulsions under various environmental stresses and found that high-temperature short-time (HTST) sterilization had no effect on the quality of the three emulsions, but autoclaving, heat treatment, and freeze-thawing all caused structural integrity damage to the emulsions. Additionally, the storage results indicated that 4 °C might be the optimal temperature for all emulsions. According to these results, W/O emulsions possess the best overall stability, which has great potential for applications to meet the current sugar reduction strategy.