Tailoring the physicochemical stability and delivery properties of emulsions stabilized by egg white microgel particles via glycation: Role of interfacial particle network and digestive metabolites

This study aimed to decipher the specific role of the interfacial particle network and digestive metabolites within the glycation-tailored interaction mechanism based on the egg white microgel particles (EWGP)-integrated O/W emulsions. Results showed that the bridging extent of the interfacial particle network was significantly reinforced via the increased fibrous aggregates and the improved particles' surface activity (surface hydrophobicity and interface tension) after glycation with d-ribose (<2 wt‰). Besides, the more bridged interfacial network introduced the preferable physicochemical stability, viscoelastic properties, and curcumin retention to emulsions against UV-radiation, in vitro digestion, and storage at 25 °C. Moreover, glycation facilitated the accumulation of larger protein fragments (>10 kDa) and non-ionized long-chain free fatty acids, probably participating in the micellization and secondary stabilization of emulsions with the sustainable bioaccessibility enhancement of curcumin (10–25%) during digestion (1–6 h). Therefore, these findings would be enlightening in intuitively and delicately tailoring the physicochemical stability and delivery properties of emulsion systems according to the characteristics of interfacial particle network and digestive metabolites. Meanwhile, this research would facilitate the direct formulations of native protein matrices (e.g., fresh egg white) in various emulsions-based functional foods for satiation perception and physiological regulation.