Exploring the potential of peach gum polysaccharides in β-carotene emulsions encapsulation during storage

Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions have emerged as a viable method for encapsulating β-carotene. To achieve stable emulsion systems, the development of latent emulsifiers is essential. This study collected three peach cultivars (Mixture cultivar (MC), Zhonghpan 11# (ZP11), and Yingqing (YQG)) to extract peach gum polysaccharides (PGP) for the encapsulation of β-carotene without the need for additional emulsifiers. The research aimed to investigate the emulsions' physicochemical stability (including particle size, zeta potential, turbidity, color, and retention rate of β-carotene (RR)) during storage. The findings revealed that the ZP11 emulsion exhibited the highest emulsion efficiency (EE) at 89.08% and displayed a more vibrant color. After 35 days of storage, YQG emulsion exhibited better emulsion stability with the highest zeta-potential (>35 mV, negative), RR of β-carotene (43.44%), and longest half-life period (t_1/2, 32.31d) among three cultivars. Correlation analysis showed that molecular weight (Mw), polydispersity coefficient (Mw/Mn), and arabinose (Ara) of PGP would have an influence on its emulsifying capacity and stability of β-carotene emulsion. The information was significant for PGP of great potential as an emulsifier and stabilizer to provide possibility regarding designing a proper delivery system.