New Insights into the Impact of Sodium Chloride on the Lipid Oxidation of Oil-in-Water Emulsions.

Salt, most often sodium chloride (NaCl), is commonly used in a variety of food emulsions. However, little is known about the detailed mechanism of how NaCl influences the lipid oxidation and thus the shelf life of those products. In this study, we report a new mechanism through which NaCl could help inhibit the lipid oxidation of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-stabilized oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Results showed that NaCl significantly lowered the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of SDS, which further led to greater amounts of lipid hydroperoxides being solubilized by SDS micelles into the aqueous phase of emulsion. NaCl also altered the distribution of δ-tocopherol between the aqueous and oil phase of emulsion. Such changes of the physical locations of lipid hydroperoxides and δ-tocopherol were responsible for the improved oxidative stability of NaCl-added O/W emulsions in the absence or presence of δ-tocopherol.