Properties and Stability of Perilla Seed Protein-Stabilized Oil-in-Water Emulsions: Influence of Protein Concentration, pH, NaCl Concentration and Thermal Treatment

Perilla seed protein (PSP) was extracted from defatted perilla seed meal and applied in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions as an emulsifier. We investigated the influences of protein concentration (0.25–1.5 wt %), pH (3.0–9.0), NaCl concentration (0–350 mmol/L) and thermal treatment (70–90 °C, 30 min) on the physical characteristics of O/W emulsions, including volume-average diameter, ζ-potential, interfacial protein concentration, microstructure and so on. Results showed that increasing PSP concentration would decrease the d(4,3) and a 1.0 wt % PSP concentration was sufficient to ensure the stability of emulsion. Under pH 3.0–9.0, emulsions were stable except at pH 3.0–5.0 which was proximal to the isoelectric point (pH 4.5) of PSP. At high NaCl concentrations (250–350 mmol/L), the emulsions exhibited relatively lower absolute ζ-potential values and a large number of aggregated droplets. A moderate thermal treatment temperature (e.g., 70 °C) was favorable for the emulsion against aggregation and creaming. However, when 90 °C thermal treatment was performed, a clear layer separation was observed after 2 weeks storage and the emulsion showed a poor stability. The findings of this work are of great importance for the utilization and development of PSP as an emulsifier for food emulsions.