Impact on Morphological Characterization and Emulsion Stability of Lactoferrin–Beet Pectin Electrostatic Complexes.

Interfacial protein–polysaccharide complexes can be utilized in emulsion-based delivery system and contained functional component or medical ingredient. In the present work, the interaction of lactoferrin (LF, 0.2 wt%) with beet pectin (BP, 0–0.15 wt%) was researched in aqueous solutions at different pH (2–9) and ionic strength (0–800 mM) to provide the information about properties of complexes. A simulative environment was created to explore the optimal concentration of BP to formulate LF-coated stabilized emulsion and how the emulsion responded to the changing environmental pH (2–9) and ionic strength (0–500 mM). Particle size, particle distribution index, zeta-potential, turbidity, Turbiscan stability index,, and peak thickness were used to characterize the physical stability of emulsions. The confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to derive the microscopy images of droplets. The results indicated that 0.4 wt% was the optimal concentration to formulate emulsions, and the LF-BP-coated bilayer emulsion has a preferable stability in more extensive range than the pure LF-stabilized emulsions under the environmental stresses through electrostatic interactions. The results of this study will play an important role in facilitating the utilization of LF-BP complexes as an emulsifier in the development of incorporating functional component or medical ingredient into commercial products. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]