Novel food-grade Pickering emulsions stabilized by tea water-insoluble protein nanoparticles from tea residues

Recently, food-grade Pickering particles, particularly plant proteins, have attracted tremendous attention because they are biobased, environmentally-friendly and edible. To explore the potential of tea water-insoluble protein (TWIP) nanoparticles from tea residues for stabilizing Pickering emulsions, the average hydrodynamic diameter (DH), zeta potential and morphologic profiles of TWIP nanoparticles were characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS), laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The results indicated that TWIP nanoparticles were irregular colloidal particles with a DH greater than 300 nm and a negative charge of more than −30 mV at ionic strengths of 0–400 mM and a fixed TWIP nanoparticle concentration (2.0%). Furthermore, the effect of the TWIP nanoparticle concentration (0.5–4.0%, w/v) and oil-water ratio (2:8–6:4) on the characteristics of the Pickering emulsions stabilized via TWIP nanoparticles was investigated. Increasing the TWIP nanoparticle concentration generated a firm and thick TWIP nanoparticle-based interfacial layer, as verified by Cryo-scanning electron microscopy imaging, and decreased the droplet size of Pickering emulsions at an oil-water ratio of 4:6. Additionally, an increase of the oil-water ratio to 6:4 favored the formation of emulsions with extraordinary creaming stability at the fixed TWIP nanoparticle concentration of 2.0%. The present study is the first to suggest TWIP nanoparticles as a type of food-grade Pickering particle.