Abstract
In recent years, growing concerns over the potential health risks of food emulsifiers have driven the search for natural alternatives. Oleosomes, naturally pre-emulsified lipids, hold great promise for developing emulsifier-free emulsion products. However, research on their functionality in complex food emulsion systems under real processing conditions remains limited. In this study, we investigated the physical stability of the emulsion comprising casein, maltodextrin, and peanut oil, where the peanut oleosome was substituted for peanut oil and emulsifier. Four emulsion samples were analyzed in this study: control emulsion (CE), control emulsion under high-pressure homogenization (CEH), peanut oleosome-stabilized emulsion (PE), and peanut oleosome under high-pressure homogenization (PEH). Following high-pressure homogenization, the peanut oleosome-stabilized emulsion exhibited the ability to withstand steam sterilization (121 °C, 20 min). The peanut oleosome-stabilized emulsion exhibited superior physical stability, demonstrating a higher emulsifying activity index (CEH: 0.87 ± 0.031 m(2)/g, PEH: 1.25 ± 0.037 m(2)/g), emulsion stability index (CEH: 894.68 ± 104.10 min, PEH: 2286.00 ± 284.24 min), and interfacial protein content (CEH: 40.38 ± 0.38%, PEH: 50.51 ± 2.54%), along with a lower Turbiscan stability index, creaming index. Furthermore, we assessed a simplified homogenization method during the preparation of peanut oleosome-stabilized emulsion. Despite the naturally pre-emulsified structure of peanut oleosome, a single high-speed shear homogenization process failed to yield an emulsion with satisfactory physical stability, emphasizing the importance of processing conditions. This study confirms the feasibility of utilizing peanut oleosomes in food emulsifier-free emulsion products. This approach offers a promising avenue to mitigate the potential risks associated with the intake of food emulsifiers.