Enhanced stability of emulsion gels solely stabilized by nanofiber-dihydromyricetin composite particles through simulated environment

In this study, the effects of simulated environment on the properties and stability of emulsion gels prepared with cellulose nanofibers/dihydromyricetin composite particles were comparatively analyzed. As the NaCl concentration increased, the droplet size decreased while the viscosity was significantly enhanced. The lipid hydroperoxide content on 15 d increased from 1.48 to 2.39 mM while malondialdehyde decreased from 2.13 to 1.66 μM. The droplet size decreased with decreasing pH, and the highest gel strength and the best oxidative stability were obtained at pH 5. These were attributed to different stabilization mechanisms induced by pH and NaCl during the formation of emulsion gels. The Pickering emulsion gel exhibited good freeze-thaw stability only when NaCl was higher than 200 mM while good centrifugal stability was monitored for all emulsion gels. These results indicate a great potential of cellulose/flavonoids composites in various processing prospects and in the development of novel food stabilizers and ingredients.