Bovine serum albumin-EGCG particles increase high internal phase pickering emulsions stability: The leading role of EGCG concentrations
Yijia Liu, Yuanjie Wu, Jieyan Zhang, Haoren Wu, Zhibing Zheng, Chaoxi Zeng, Xinguo Liu, Xiaohua Li, Jian‐Hui Ye, Zhonghua Liu, Meng Shi
Abstract
Bovine serum albumin (BSA)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) have been widely studied; however, the effects of EGCG concentration on the properties of these complexes and their influence on the stability of high-internal-phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) remain limited. This study aims to reveal the interactions between BSA and varying concentrations of EGCG and the application of BSA-EGCG complexes for creating stable emulsions. As the concentration of EGCG decreases from 0.3% to 0.1%, the β-sheet content significantly increased and the β-turn content significantly decreased, resulting in smaller sizes and zeta potentials of 50 μm and −58.7 mV, respectively, at a 0.1% EGCG concentration. This change enhances the ability of BSA-EGCG to adsorb at the oil-water interface, effectively lowering interfacial tension and increasing the emulsion viscosity. Moreover, the interactions between BSA and EGCG markedly improved pH stability, ionic stability, thermal stability, centrifugal stability, and freeze-thaw stability of emulsions. These findings highlight the valuable role of EGCG levels on BSA-EGCG interactions and formed HIPPEs, suggesting their promising applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. • Bovine serum albumin (BSA) binds to EGCG through hydrophobic and hydrogen interactions. • EGCG altered the secondary structure of BSA. • Smallest emulsion size, zeta potential and interfacial tension were observed at 0.1% EGCG. • Increasing EGCG from 0.1% to 0.3% decrease emulsion viscosity. • BSA-EGCG complex significantly enhanced the stability of HIPPEs.