Lipid oxidation in oil-in-water emulsions: Iron complexation by buffer ions and transfer on the interface as a possible mechanism

Physical and oxidative stability of babassu (Orbignya phalerata mart) oil in water nanoemulsions: Effect of oil and guar gum concentrations

Babassu oil (BO) was used in the production of oil in water (O/W) nanoemulsions in order to evaluate the potential application of an alternative source of vegetable oil in the composition of colloidal systems. The proportion of oil phase (10, 20 and 30 % w/w) and guar gum (GG) concentrations (0, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 % w/w) were evaluated for 30 days of storage at 5 °C. Physical (pH, viscosity, zeta potential, average diameter, microstructure, and creaming index) and the oxidative stability were measured to evaluate the feasibility of BO in the production of O/W nanoemulsions. The nanoemulsions presented a zeta potential higher than 19.17 mV in absolute value. All systems presented a polydispersity index (PDI) below 0.031 and unimodal size distributions, with the mean droplet diameter size below 246.17 nm. The addition of GG increased the viscosity of the emulsions and the average droplet diameter size. For all samples, creaming index did not vary significantly after 30 days of storage at 5 °C, contributing to the stability of the system. In general, the samples containing a higher oil concentration (30 %) were less stable in terms of oxidation, possibly due to the increased amount of oil. BO can be a promising alternative source of oil to produce nanoemulsions, as the emulsions containing up to 20 % w/w oil and 0.15 % w/w GG presented promising results regarding the physical and oxidative stability. Nanoemulsions with increased stability containing alternative sources of oil may be an interesting approach for cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food industries.

Advancements in Biosensors for Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Protection in Food: A Critical Review

This review highlights the progress made in recent years on biosensors aimed at detecting relevant analytes/markers of food peroxidation. Starting from the basic definition of biosensors and the chemical features of peroxidation, here we describe the different approaches that can be used to obtain information about the progress of peroxidation and the efficacy of antioxidants. Aptamers, metal-organic frameworks, nanomaterials, and supported enzymes, in conjunction with electrochemical methods, can provide fast and cost-effective detection of analytes related to peroxidation, like peroxides, aldehydes, and metals. The determination of (poly)phenols concentrations by biosensors, which can be easily obtained by using immobilized enzymes (like laccase), provides an indirect measure of peroxidation. The rationale for developing new biosensors, with a special focus on food applications, is also discussed.

Oxidation and oxidative stability in emulsions

Emulsions are implemented in the fabrication of a wide array of foods and therefore are of great importance in food science. However, the application of emulsions in food production is restricted by two main obstacles, that is, physical and oxidative stability. The former has been comprehensively reviewed somewhere else, but our literature review indicated that there is a prominent ground for reviewing the latter across all kinds of emulsions. Therefore, the present study was formulated in order to review oxidation and oxidative stability in emulsions. In doing so, different measures to render oxidative stability to emulsions are reviewed after introducing lipid oxidation reactions and methods to measure lipid oxidation. These strategies are scrutinized in four main categories, namely storage conditions, emulsifiers, optimization of production methods, and antioxidants. Afterward, oxidation in all types of emulsions, including conventional ones (oil-in-water and water-in-oil) and uncommon emulsions in food production (oil-in-oil), is reviewed. Furthermore, the oxidation and oxidative stability of multiple emulsions, nanoemulsions, and Pickering emulsions are taken into account. Finally, oxidative processes across different parent and food emulsions were explained taking a comparative approach.

Progress in the Application of Food-Grade Emulsions

The detailed investigation of food-grade emulsions, which possess considerable structural and functional advantages, remains ongoing to enhance our understanding of these dispersion systems and to expand their application scope. This work reviews the applications of food-grade emulsions on the dispersed phase, interface structure, and macroscopic scales; further, it discusses the corresponding factors of influence, the selection and design of food dispersion systems, and the expansion of their application scope. Specifically, applications on the dispersed-phase scale mainly include delivery by soft matter carriers and auxiliary extraction/separation, while applications on the scale of the interface structure involve biphasic systems for enzymatic catalysis and systems that can influence substance digestion/absorption, washing, and disinfection. Future research on these scales should therefore focus on surface-active substances, real interface structure compositions, and the design of interface layers with antioxidant properties. By contrast, applications on the macroscopic scale mainly include the design of soft materials for structured food, in addition to various material applications and other emerging uses. In this case, future research should focus on the interactions between emulsion systems and food ingredients, the effects of food process engineering, safety, nutrition, and metabolism. Considering the ongoing research in this field, we believe that this review will be useful for researchers aiming to explore the applications of food-grade emulsions.

Enzymatic acylation of lutein with a series of saturated fatty acid vinyl esters and the thermal stability and anti-lipid oxidation properties of the acylated derivatives

Lutein was enzymatically acylated with saturated fatty acid vinyl esters of different lengths of carbon chain (C₆ -C₁₄ ) under the action of Candida antarctica lipase B (Novozyme 435). The acylation reaction was optimized by considering substrate molar ratio, reaction solvent, type of enzyme, and reaction time. The highest yield (88%) was obtained using the Novozyme 435 to catalyze the acylation reaction of lutein and vinyl decanoate (lutein/vinyl decanoate molar ratio of 1/10) for 16 h in methyl tert-butyl ether. Ten lutein esters were synthesized, isolated, and purified, which were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. We found that the acylation of lutein improved its antioxidant capacity in lipid system and thermal stability. Our study extended the potential application of lutein in lipophilic food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. Practical Application: Enzyme acylation of lutein improved its antioxidant capacity in lipid system and thermal stability, extended its potential application in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In addition, our study also provided a new perspective and cognition for the further development and utilization of lutein.

Methods to Determine Chain-Breaking Antioxidant Activity of Nanomaterials beyond DPPH•. A Review

This review highlights the progress made in recent years in understanding the mechanism of action of nanomaterials with antioxidant activity and in the chemical methods used to evaluate their activity. Nanomaterials represent one of the most recent frontiers in the research for improved antioxidants, but further development is hampered by a poor characterization of the ''antioxidant activity'' property and by using oversimplified chemical methods. Inhibited autoxidation experiments provide valuable information about the interaction with the most important radicals involved in the lipid oxidation, namely alkylperoxyl and hydroperoxyl radicals, and demonstrate unambiguously the ability to stop the oxidation of organic materials. It is proposed that autoxidation methods should always complement (and possibly replace) the use of assays based on the quenching of stable radicals (such as DPPH• and ABTS•+). The mechanisms leading to the inhibition of the autoxidation (sacrificial and catalytic radical trapping antioxidant activity) are described in the context of nanoantioxidants. Guidelines for the selection of the appropriate testing conditions and of meaningful kinetic analysis are also given.

Towards Oxidatively Stable Emulsions Containing Iron-Loaded Liposomes: The Key Role of Phospholipid-to-Iron Ratio

To encapsulate soluble iron, liposomes were prepared using unsaturated phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine from egg yolk), leading to high encapsulation efficiencies (82–99%). The iron concentration affected their oxidative stability: at 0.2 and 1 mM ferrous sulfate, the liposomes were stable, whereas at higher concentrations (10 and 48 mM), phospholipid oxidation was considerably higher. When applied in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions, emulsions with liposomes containing low iron concentrations were much more stable to lipid oxidation than those added with liposomes containing higher iron concentrations, even though the overall iron concentration was similar (0.1 M). Iron-loaded liposomes thus have an antioxidant effect at high phospholipid-to-iron ratio, but act as pro-oxidants when this ratio is too low, most likely as a result of oxidation of the phospholipids themselves. This non-monotonic effect can be of crucial importance in the design of iron-fortified foods.