On the oxidative and physical stability of oleosome emulsions

Summary

Many food products (e.g., salad dressings) are oil-in-water emulsions that consist of oil droplets dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase. Oil-in-water emulsions are prone to oxidative (becoming rancid) and physical destabilization. In this project, we opted to learn from plants how to prevent emulsion destabilization. Seeds contain natural oil droplets called oleosomes, which were suggested to be highly resistant to destabilization. We extracted oleosomes from seeds, created model food emulsions, and tested their stability. The oleosome emulsion oxidized slower than a traditional emulsion. We identified the design principles responsible for the high oxidative stability of oleosomes. Furthermore, we extracted the key components of oleosomes to create simplified artificial oleosomes. The artificial oleosomes provided insights into how oleosomes are physically stabilized. The outcomes of our project help to promote oleosomes as a “natural” strategy for increasing emulsion stability. The design principles learned from oleosomes could inspire the design of more stable emulsion products.