Stability of acidic egg white protein emulsions containing xanthan gum

The influence of xanthan gum concentration on the physicochemical stability of model oil-in-water emulsions prepared with egg white protein at pH 3.8 and containing 150 mM NaCl was investigated by following droplet aggregate formation, rheological changes, and serum separation with storage time. Egg white emulsions were more strongly flocculated and exhibited higher stability against creaming than those of yolk, irrespective of the presence or absence of xanthan. Depletion effects, originating from the presence in the continuous phase of the emulsions of nonadsorbing xanthan molecules, intensified droplet-droplet flocculation effects and resulted in large droplet flocs. At relatively low xanthan contents, the emulsions exhibited higher stability against creaming compared to the respective control emulsions probably due to the formation of a continuous droplet aggregate network structure. At higher xanthan contents, less extensive droplet interactions, due to slowly evolving microstructure of phase-separated xanthan-rich and xanthan-depleted regions, resulted in emulsions exhibiting increased stability against creaming. The role of interactions between protein molecules adsorbed on neighboring droplets in these changes and their effect on emulsion aging are discussed.