Physicochemical stability, microrheological properties and microstructure of lutein emulsions stabilized by multilayer membranes consisting of whey protein isolate, flaxseed gum and chitosan.

The impact of chitosan (CTS) on the physicochemical stability, microrheological property and microstructure of whey protein isolate (WPI)-flaxseed gum (FG) stabilized lutein emulsions at pH 3.0 was studied. A layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition method was used to prepare multilayered lutein emulsions. Droplet size, zeta-potential, instability index, microstructure and microrheological behavior of lutein emulsions were measured. The influences of interfacial layer, metal chelator and free radical scavenger on the chemical stability of lutein emulsions were also investigated. It was found that multilayer emulsions had better physical stability showing the pronounced effect of 1wt% CTS. The mean square displacement analysis demonstrated that CTS led to increases of macroscopic viscosity and elasticity index for WPI-FG stabilized lutein emulsions due to CTS embedding in the network. CTS also helped to chemically stabilize the lutein emulsions against degradation. The combination of interfacial membrane and prooxidative metal chelator or free radical scavenger was an effective method to control lutein degradation.