Emulsification mechanism of persimmon pectin with promising emulsification capability and stability

The influence of processing factors and surrounding environment stress on persimmon pectin (PP) prepared emulsion was compared with commercial sugar beet and citrus pectins. The results showed that although PP-stabilized emulsion was sensitive to salt ions, it had stronger resistance against high temperature, freeze-thawing, thermal cycling, and accelerated centrifugation than commercial sugar beet and citrus pectins. To reveal its potential emulsifying mechanism, multi-techniques including triple-phase contact angle evaluation, adsorption layer characterization, and super-resolution imaging of emulsions were employed. Results showed that PP had a high triple-phase contact angle of 83°, endowing it with balanced hydrophobicity and interfacial adsorption. The polystyrene latex particles (PS) model analysis showed that PP exhibited the highest adsorption layer thickness. Moreover, the quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) analysis suggested that PP formed a thicker interfacial film and higher adsorption mass and viscoelasticity. The cryogenic-scanning electron micromorphology (Cryo-SEM) revealed a “3D-network” structure around the oil droplets was formed by PP, further enhancing elastic interface film and effectively preventing the flow of the oil droplets. Overall, PP exerted excellent emulsifying capability and stability through multi-layer adsorption. The results suggested that PP exhibited a promising emulsification potential and could be developed as a novel polysaccharide emulsifier in the food industry. • The emulsion prepared by PP exhibited higher resistance against environmental stress than that of commercial pectins. • PP exerted promising emulsification properties via multi-layer adsorption on the interface. • 3D-structure around the oil droplets formed by PP effectively prevented oil droplets flow.