Plant based Pickering stabilization of emulsions using soluble flaxseed protein and mucilage nano-assemblies

Abstract

A straightforward and green method of stabilizing emulsions was developed using plant-based particles from complexation of flaxseed protein (FP) and the soluble fraction of flaxseed mucilage (SFM). The extracted SFM was characterized using 1H and 13C NMR. The effect of pH, total concentration (TC) and FP to SFM ratio on the formation of assemblies was investigated by light scattering, surface charge and optical density measurements. The selected negatively charged complex particles had the size of 369.46 nm and near neutral wettability. These nano-assemblies were utilized to fabricate Pickering emulsions. The effect of the FP to SFM ratio, TC and oil content was evaluated on the droplet size of the Pickering emulsions. The droplet size variation of the emulsions stabilized by the selected complex particles and protein only was also monitored during 30 days of storage and the flocculation and coalescence indices were evaluated. On comparing the emulsifying ability of the complex particles with protein particles at pH 3, native FP resulted in poor formation and stability of emulsions due to the aggregation while complex stabilized emulsion was stable with no variation in the droplet size during storage. The microstructure of the emulsions was demonstrated utilizing Cryo-SEM and CLSM. The complexation was able to improve the functionality of FP for emulsion stabilization. The fabricated FP-SFM Pickering emulsions have potential application for the encapsulation of lipophilic bioactive compounds in natural and plant based food, beverage, and pharmaceutical formulations.