Fabrication and stability of oil-in-water emulsions with mung bean protein aggregates and soy lecithin

Abstract

In this study, we formulated oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with thermally induced mung bean protein aggregates (MBA) and soy lecithin (LEC) to improve emulsion stability during storage. First, MBA was produced by adjusting the pH of mung bean protein isolate (5 %) to 2 using 6 M HCl, followed by heating (90 °C) and stirring for different times (0, 1, 2, and 4 h). LEC (1 %) was then added to the MBA solution to prepare an MBA/LEC complex. The MBA/LEC complex exhibited greater aggregation and shorter and thinner fibers than MBA alone. MBA/LEC effectively coated the oil droplet surface and was evenly distributed in the aqueous phase of the emulsion system, suggesting that MBA/LEC suppressed droplet flocculation during storage (14 days). These findings highlight the potential of MBA and MBA/LEC as natural plant-based emulsifiers for improving the stability of oil-in-water emulsions in food production.