Whey Proteins as a Potential Co-Surfactant with Aesculus hippocastanum L. as a Stabilizer in Nanoemulsions Derived from Hempseed Oil.

Wojciech Smułek,Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski,Yigong Guo,David D Kitts,Maciej Jarzębski,Jerzy Stangierski,Anubhav Pratap-Singh,Przemysław Siejak,Hanna Maria Baranowska,Łukasz Masewicz,Farahnaz Fathordoobady,Małgorzata Jarzębska,Anna Szwajca

doi:10.3390/molecules26195856

Abstract

The use of natural surfactants including plant extracts, plant hydrocolloids and proteins in nanoemulsion systems has received commercial interest due to demonstrated safety of use and potential health benefits of plant products. In this study, a whey protein isolate (WPI) from a byproduct of cheese production was used to stabilize a nanoemulsion formulation that contained hempseed oil and the Aesculus hippocastanum L. extract (AHE). A Box–Behnken experimental design was used to set the formulation criteria and the optimal nanoemulsion conditions, used subsequently in follow-up experiments that measured specifically emulsion droplet size distribution, stability tests and visual quality. Regression analysis showed that the concentration of HSO and the interaction between HSO and the WPI were the most significant factors affecting the emulsion polydispersity index and droplet size (nm) (p < 0.05). Rheological tests, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and L*a*b* color parameters were also taken to characterize the physicochemical properties of the emulsions. Emulsion systems with a higher concentration of the AHE had a potential metabolic activity up to 84% in a microbiological assay. It can be concluded from our results that the nanoemulsion system described herein is a safe and stable formulation with potential biological activity and health benefits that complement its use in the food industry.

Highlights

Emulsions are widely used in many industries and have an important role in the food industry to stabilize many different formulations that have either oil-in-water (O/W) or water-in-oil (W/O) dispersions [1]
The purpose of this study was to prepare an O/W formulation of an Hempseed oil (HSO) nanoemulsion system that was stabilized with an optimal concentration of the whey protein isolate (WPI) and the Aesculus hippocastanum L. extract (AHE)
Three level Box–Behnken experiment design with response surface methodology was applied for the experiment setup (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Emulsions are widely used in many industries and have an important role in the food industry to stabilize many different formulations that have either oil-in-water (O/W) or water-in-oil (W/O) dispersions [1]. Hempseed oil (HSO), derived from the seeds of Cannabis sativa L., is recognized for both nutritional, health-promoting and bioactive properties [12,13] It is a good source of both n-3 and n-6 essential fatty acids, linoleic acid (55%) and alpha-linolenic acid (20%), with concentrations relatively higher than in other vegetable oils [14]. The presence of minor components, such as tocopherol, tocotrienols, carotenes, minerals, terpenoids and β-sitosterol add to the nutritional value of HSO Besides these health effects, HSO is often used in formulations that require high miscibility with water [16], which reduces the reliance of additional surfactants for use in nanoemulsions. HSO has been used in cosmetic, nutraceutical, food and functional food industries

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Methods

Results