Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose enhances the stability of o/w Pickering emulsions stabilized with chitosan and the whole cells of Lactococcus lactis IO-1.

Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) was used as a co-emulsifier with chitosan and the whole cells of bacteriocin-producing Lactococcus lactis IO-1 (L. lactis IO-1) for the preparation of bacteria interface Pickering emulsion. The obtained emulsion exhibited a high stability against centrifugation force, ionic strength and low temperature, with the whole cells of L. lactis IO-1 located at the oil/water interface. Because L.lactis IO-1 was found to produce peptide lantibiotic against several strains of Gram-positive food pathogen, the highly stable emulsion demonstrated in this study exhibited high potential as an antimicrobial emulsion with several health benefits of chitosan and HPLC useful for food industry.