Construction of stable O/W/O multiple emulsions using beeswax to control the melting point of the continuous oil phase

Oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) multiple emulsions could be used as simulated fat substitutes to reduce the intake of trans- or saturated-fatty acids. In this study, O/W/O multiple emulsions had been fabricated by using carboxymethyl chitosan to stabilize O/W emulsion firstly, and the obtained O/W emulsion was used as the inner dispersed phase, and the beeswax was used as external oil phase for the construction of the O/W/O multiple emulsions. The impact of beeswax content (2–8 wt%) and the volume fraction of the inner O/W emulsion (10–50 v%) on the morphology, stability and rheological properties of the O/W/O multiple emulsions had been investigated. When the O/W multiple emulsion as inner phase ratio was increased, the droplet size of the O/W/O multiple emulsions was increased. With the increasing of the content of beeswax in the continuous oil phase, the O/W/O multiple emulsions droplet size was decreased while the stability of the O/W/O multiple emulsions was improved. The increase of beeswax content could improve the viscosity and viscoelastic modulus of the O/W/O multiple emulsions system, endowing the O/W/O multiple emulsion with improved stability. It made it possible to change the texture of the O/W/O multiple emulsions co-containing water-soluble and oil-soluble components.