The physical and rheological properties of egg albumin emulsions are influenced by basil seed gum as the stabilizer

In this study, the effect of basil seed gum (BSG) on the stability and rheological properties of egg white albumin (EWA) emulsions was investigated. A constant amount of EWA (0.5% w/v) and different concentrations of BSG (0-0.3% w/v) were used for the manufacture and stabilization of oil-in-water emulsions (30% w/w). The results showed that by increasing BSG concentration, the storage (21 days) stability of the emulsions was significantly (p < 0.05) improved. The highest creaming index was obtained in the case of the control emulsion (containing no BSG). Negative zeta potential was observed for all emulsion samples, with the emulsion containing 0.3% BSG showing the most negative surface charge, indicating the improvement in the stability of the manufactured emulsions in the presence of BSG. All of the emulsions showed shear-thinning flow behavior. The apparent viscosity increased with the increase in BSG concentration. Hysteresis area increased due to the increase in BSG concentration. The results of the frequency sweep test showed that storage and loss moduli increased by increasing the frequency and both of these moduli increased due to the increase in BSG concentration. Fitting frequency sweep data with power-law model confirmed a gel-like behavior for the emulsions containing a higher concentration of BSG. Overall, the findings of this study demonstrated that basil seed gum at an optimum concentration (0.3%) could be used as a natural stabilizer in the food emulsions containing egg albumin.