Interfacial properties of plant protein–flavonoid hybrid particles: towards influencing in vitro gastric digestion of emulsions

This study evaluated the interfacial performance of potato protein-quercetin hybrid particles (PoPQC) at oil-water interfaces and how such hybrid particle-laden interface provide stability to Pickering emulsions droplets during in vitro gastric digestion. Dynamic adsorption and interfacial shear rheology of PoPQC dispersions as a function of pH 3.0–9.0 and 100–250 mM NaCl (pH 7.0) and the microstructural evolution of the emulsions stabilized by these plant protein-hybrid particles were examined under in vitro gastric digestion. Remarkably, PoPQC dispersions exhibited limited pH-dependent size changes, showing resistance to isoelectric precipitation unlike the non-hybrid potato protein (PoP). Complexation with QC reduced hydrophobic PoP–PoP interaction and promoted the formation of elastic interfacial layers which strengthened with increased ionic strengths. The robustness of the PoPQC interfacial structure offered microstructural stability to the emulsified lipids unlike those emulsions stabilized by PoP in the gastric phase, highlighting the potential of hybrid particles for controlling gastric coalescence.