Nonlinear viscoelasticity of Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil Pickering emulsion stabilized with cellulose nanofibrils

Pickering emulsions are suitable technological approaches to stabilize the bioactive compounds of essential oils (EOs) with economic interests for the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries using atoxic and renewable stabilizers, such as cellulose nanostructures. The Melaleuca alternifolia essential oil (MaEO) is recognized for its pronounced antimicrobial performance, which has attracted your interest in developing eco-friendly antiseptic products. In this contribution, we report the nonlinear viscoelasticity behavior of MaEO-in-water Pickering emulsions stabilized by cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) using Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) tests. The rheological characterizations by Fourier Transform (FT) rheology spectroscopy and Lissajous plots enabled the correlation of the viscous and elastic behaviors with the physical processes involving the deformation of the emulsion. Also, the internal structure of the emulsion was elucidated by fluorescence optical microscopy. Several findings relative to the effects of the shear deformation amplitude over the nonlinear viscoelasticity of the emulsified system are reported here, which are essential to the industrial processes used to develop technological products.