Preparation and stability mechanisms of double emulsions stabilized by gelatinized native starch.

Double emulsions are promising carrier systems for foods, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics. However, their limited stability hinders their practical applications. We used gelatinized starch to develop stable double emulsions as carrier materials. The oil/water/water (O/W/W) double emulsions were formed by 5 wt% native corn starch, while oil/water/oil (O/W/O) double emulsions were formed by 7 wt% native corn starch and high-amylose starch with 60 % and 75 % amylose contents investigated by optical microscopy. Furthermore, the storage stability of double emulsions was revealed by droplet size distribution, microstructure, backscattering, rheological profiles, and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF-NMR) imaging. Results confirmed that the O/W/O double emulsions stabilized by 7 wt% native corn starch had a smaller mean droplet size (11.400 ± 0.424 μm) and excellent storage stability (14 days) than O/W/W and O/W/O double emulsions prepared with high-amylose starch. Such unique double emulsions prepared with gelatinized native corn starch are good candidates of carrier materials.