Fabrication, characterization and stability of Pickering emulsions stabilized by Hohenbuehelia serotina protein-based nanoparticles

This study isolated and purified a protein from Hohenbuehelia serotina (HP) with the molecular weight of 11 kDa. HP was composed by 16 kinds of amino acids and had the excellent thermal stability and water/oil holding capacity. The nanoparticles were fabricated based on HP and sodium alginate (HSNPs) or chitosan (HCNPs), the average particle sizes of which were 683.4 nm and 688.7 nm, respectively. Both HSNPs and HCNPs possessed non-crystalline properties and nearly rectangle morphology, with smooth surface and neat edge. Comparatively, HCNPs possessed the higher contents of free sulfhydryl group, total sulfhydryl group, disulfide bond and stronger surface hydrophobicity. The Pickering emulsions (PEs) stabilized by HSNPs or HCNPs had the typical shear-thinning and elastic gelatinous characteristics and excellent temperature, ionic and storage stability. Both HSNPs and HCNPs effectively prevented the lipid oxidation of PEs and extended their shelf life. These findings provided a basis for HP-based stabilizer applied in construction of emulsions.