Chitosan/OSA starch composite-stabilized Pickering emulsions: Characterization and its application in curcumin

This study investigated the chitosan (CS)-octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) starch complex as a stabilizer for Pickering emulsions. The effects of OSA concentration (0.5 wt %-2.5 wt %) and viscosity (OSA1, OSA2, OSA3) on the stability and physiochemical properties of emulsion were examined. The results showed that CS-OSA with 2.0 wt % concentration OSA stabilized emulsion exhibited optimal emulsifying capacity. Contact angle analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) and X-difference diffractometer (XRD) were utilized to explore the stabilized mechanism of CS-OSA on emulsion, results confirmed the CS and OSA interactions, and strong adsorption of CS-OSA particles at the oil-water interface. Furthermore, CS-OSA stabilized emulsion loading curcumin were assessed, results showed that curcumin loaded emulsion exhibited high stability and better antioxidant capacity than free CS during 10-day storage. The overall study offers valuable insights into the utilization of CS-OSA emulsifiers in delivery application for lipophilic bioactive molecules. • Stable emulsion was obtained by optimization of mass ratios and viscosity of OSA. • Chitosan (CS)-OSA2 with mild viscosity OSA showed better physicochemical property. • CS-OSA enhanced the oxidative stability of curcumin-loaded emulsion during storage.