Food-grade olive oil Pickering emulsions stabilized by starch/β-cyclodextrin complex nanoparticles: Improved storage stability and regulatory effects on gut microbiota

The beneficial effects of olive oil consumption make it be one of the leading healthy edible oils worldwide. However, the water insolubility and oxidation of olive oil hinder its applications. In this study, food-grade oil-in-water olive oil Pickering emulsions (OOPEs) stabilized by hybrid starch/β-cyclodextrin nanoparticles (starch/β-CD NPs) was developed and characterized. The starch/β-CD NPs concentration and oil phase fraction had a significant influence on the droplet size, zeta potential and storage stability of emulsions.

Highlights

Starch/β-CD nanoparticles could be used to develop olive oil Pickering emulsion.

Starch/β-CD nanoparticles absorbed around the oil droplets to stabilize emulsion.

The Pickering emulsion showed a shear-thinning behavior with a gel-like structure.

The Pickering emulsion showed excellent storage stability and oxidative stability.

The Pickering emulsion regulated the composition of gut microbiota in mice.

Confocal laser scanning microscopic observation revealed that the starch/β-CD NPs mainly located at the interface of oil droplets, forming a network structure to stabilize emulsions. Rheological analysis indicated the shear-thinning behavior and gel-like structure of starch/β-CD NPs stabilized OOPEs. Additionally, the obtained OOPEs remarkably improved the oxidative stability and storage stability by inhibiting the lipid oxidation compared to pure olive oil.

Furthermore, animal experiments indicated that OOPEs modulated the gut microbiota in mice with an enhanced richness and diversity, resulting in an increased abundance of health-promoting bacteria. Notably, high-dosage OOPEs significantly decreased the ratio of phyla Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes. These findings could facilitate the development of olive oil Pickering emulsion with excellent stability and health effects on gut microbiota for applications in foods.

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Materials: Virgin olive oil and rap oil were provided by Sichuan Dingrunyuan Biological Technology Co., Ltd. (Sichuan province, China). β-Cyclodextrin (≥99%) and pullulanase (EC 3.2.1.41) were purchased from Yuanye Bio-Technology Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). Waxy maize starch (approximately 2% amylose and 98% amylopectin), Nile Red and Nile Blue A were obtained from Aladdin Regent Co. (Shanghai, China). All other chemicals were of analytical grade.

Article information: Qiaolei Li, Yanni Huang, Yaliyi Du, You Chen, Yanping Wu, Kai Zhong, Yina Huang, Hong Gao, Food-grade olive oil Pickering emulsions stabilized by starch/β-cyclodextrin complex nanoparticles: Improved storage stability and regulatory effects on gut microbiota, LWT, Volume 155, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2021.112950.