Shu, GaofengNauman KhalidChen, ZhangA. Neves, MarcosJ. Barrow, ColinNakajima, Mitsutoshi2019-03-192019-03-192018Shu, G., Khalid, N., Chen, Z., Neves, M. A., Barrow, C. J., & Nakajima, M. (2018). Formulation and characterization of astaxanthin-enriched nanoemulsions stabilized using ginseng saponins as natural emulsifiers. Food Chemistry, 255, 67-74. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2018.02.062.(Nauman Khalid (SFAS), (JCR Listed))https://escholar.umt.edu.pk/handle/123456789/3698In this study ginseng saponins (GS) were used as natural emulsifiers to formulate and stabilize O/W nanoemulsions loaded with astaxanthin (AST). GS were found to be highly effective at reducing the interfacial tension at the soybean oil–water interfaces, and were capable of producing nano-scaled droplets (d4,3 ≈ 125 nm) using a high-pressure homogenizer. The droplet size of the nanoemulsions decreased with increasing emulsifier concentration and homogenization pressure. The nanoemulsions were stable without droplet coalescence against thermal treatment (30–90 °C, 30 min), and over a narrow range of pH values (7–9). GS-coated droplets were unstable in acidic conditions (pH 3–6) and in the presence of salt (>25 mM NaCl). The formulated nanoemulsions showed slight change in d4,3 during 15 days of storage at 5, 25 and 40 °C. However, the chemical stability strongly depended on the storage temperature, with the lowest level of AST retained in nanoemulsions stored at higher temperature.enAstaxanthin, Nanoemulsions, Ginseng saponins, Stability, CharacterizationArticle