Construction and controlled flavor release of high internal phase emulsion stabilized by pH-driven-assembled soy peptide nanoparticles

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of pH-driven assembled soy peptide nanoparticle (SPN) to prepare high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) containing sweet orange essential oil (SOEO), and the effects of SPN concentration and oil phase fraction on the formation, stability and flavor release characteristics were investigated. Results showed that stable HIPEs with excellent self-supporting state were successfully fabricated at relative high SPN concentrations (0.5-3.0 wt%). And the increase in SPN concentration could cause smaller droplet size, better viscoelastic properties and stability. The flavor release of SOEO in SPN-stabilized HIPEs could be slowed down and modulated by regulating SPN concentration, and the retention of key flavor compound (D- limonene) in SOEO encapsulated in HIPEs could be reached to higher than 70 % after 120 days of storage. All these indicated the effective encapsulation and delivery of SOEO in SPN-stabilized HIPEs and their prospective application as fat substitutes in plant-based food systems.