Egg white grafts weak-gels efficiently stabilize high internal phase emulsions and interfere with lipid hydrolysis: As delivery vehicles for hydrophobic actives

This study investigated the performance of egg white grafts (EWG) weak-gel to stabilize high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) loaded with curcumin and analyzed the lipids hydrolysis after digestion via proton nuclear magnetic resonance ¹H NMR. The results showed that the EWG weak-gel formed after heating stabilized HIPEs exhibited small particle sizes, high values of storage and loss modulus, and a compact microstructure as well as better environmental stability. The stability of curcumin encapsulated in HIPEs stabilized by EWG weak-gel was increased by 1.80-fold. In in vitro simulation of digestion, the release of free fatty acids by HIPEs decreased from 89.59% to 31.85% with the increasing EWG weak-gel proportion. Based on the results of ¹H NMR analysis, unsaturated lipids are less susceptible to hydrolysis and oxidation as they are protected by a thicker interfacial layer formed by the EWG weak-gel formed after heating. Hence, the EWG weak-gel can stabilize HIPEs and deliver hydrophobic bioactive compounds efficiently and interfere with lipids hydrolysis.