Preparation of pumpkin seed protein isolate nanoparticles by heat-assisted pH-shifting: Enhanced emulsification performance and dispersibility

A food-grade Pickering emulsifier was fabricated using heat-assisted pH-shifting (HP) method for enhancing the emulsion stability. The emulsification performance of the modified pumpkin seed protein isolate (PSPI) nanoparticles was initially tested. The results showed that the modified PSPI had substantially improved emulsifying capacity, with the internal oil phase volume fraction reaching up to 80%, and the emulsion remaining stable after centrifugation at 10,000  g for 60 min and 30 days of storage. The data from sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), UV–visible, intrinsic fluorescence and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) indicated that the primary, secondary and tertiary structures of PSPI were disrupted, resulting in changes in interfacial tension, wettability, particle size, and dispersibility of the protein, which promoted the adsorption of modified PSPI nanoparticles to the surface of oil droplets and improved the emulsion stability. Overall, the HP modified PSPI is a promising Pickering emulsifier for various applications.