Protein-Stabilized Emulsion Gels with Improved Emulsifying and Gelling Properties for the Delivery of Bioactive Ingredients: A Review

Abstract

In today’s food industry, the potential of bioactive compounds in preventing many chronic diseases has garnered significant attention. Many delivery systems have been developed to encapsulate these unstable bioactive compounds. Emulsion gels, as colloidal soft-solid materials, with their unique three-dimensional network structure and strong mechanical properties, are believed to provide excellent protection for bioactive substances. In the context of constructing carriers for bioactive materials, proteins are frequently employed as emulsifiers or gelling agents in emulsions or protein gels. However, in emulsion gels, when protein is used as an emulsifier to stabilize the oil/water interface, the gelling properties of proteins can also have a great influence on the functionality of the emulsion gels. Therefore, this paper aims to focus on the role of proteins’ emulsifying and gelling properties in emulsion gels, providing a comprehensive review of the formation and modification of protein-based emulsion gels to build high-quality emulsion gel systems, thereby improving the stability and bioavailability of embedded bioactive substances.