<i>O</i>-Acetyl-galactoglucomannans (GGM) are polysaccharides abundantly available in softwoods and their mechanical pulp, from which they dissolve in the process water of industrial mills and can be isolated at high yield and purity. Recent efforts on GGM research are focused on their recovery from modern forestry biorefining processes and utilization in, e.g., material, packaging, or biomedical applications. GGM are known to stabilize the colloidal dispersions of wood-derived lipophilic substances in pulp. We study the potential of GGM as stabilizers in food systems, which could be suitable novel applications for these plant-based polysaccharides. In the present study, GGM and their carboxymethyl derivatives (CM-GGM) were dissolved in aqueous buffer solution and used as the continuous phase of rapeseed oil-in-water emulsions (1–5 wt.-% oil, 0.01–1 wt.-% GGM or CM-GGM), prepared by high pressure homogenization using a microfluidizer. The oil particle size distribution was followed during four weeks of storage at room temperature, using static light scattering. In addition, the zeta potential (ζ) of emulsion droplets was determined and the morphology of emulsions was investigated by optical microscopy. The partitioning of GGM and CM-GGM between the continuous phase and on the oil-water interface was investigated after separating the emulsions’ phases by centrifugation. GGM and CM-GGM greatly enhanced the emulsion formation compared to plain buffer solution, and produced oil particles with average diameter (d3,2) below 1 µm. The visual appearance of the emulsions as well as the particle size distribution over storage revealed that GGM and CM-GGM efficiently stabilized the emulsions against physical breakdown. The mechanisms of stabilization of the model food emulsions by GGM and CM-GGM will be discussed.

Softwood hemicelluloses promote the physical stability of oil-in-water emulsions

249th National Meeting (2015)

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