Effects of fatty acid addition to oil-in-water emulsions stabilized with sucrose fatty acid ester

Abstract

Adding fatty acids to an oil-in-water (O/W) emulsion changes the stability of the emulsion. In this study, we prepared a series of O/W emulsions consisting of oil (triolein/fatty acid mixture), water and a range of surfactants (sucrose fatty acid esters) with varying hydrophilic–lipophilic balance (HLB) in order to determine the effects of alkyl chain length and the degree of unsaturation of the fatty acid molecules on the stability of the emulsions. As a result, sucrose fatty acid esters with HLB = 5–7 were suitable for obtaining O/W emulsions. In addition, the creaming phenomenon was inhibited for 30 days or more when fatty acids having a linear saturated alkyl chain with 14 or more carbon atoms were added. These findings are useful for designing stable O/W emulsions for food and cosmetic products.