Effects of Change in PH and Addition of Sucrose and NaCl on the Emulsifying Properties of Mucilage Obtained from Pereskia aculeata Miller

In this study, we evaluated the emulsifying properties of the hydrocolloids extracted from ora-pro-nóbis ( Pereskia aculeata Miller) (HOPN) in soy oil emulsions (20% w / w ) in water after different processing conditions. These properties were evaluated in terms of index of creaming, activity and emulsifying stability, electrical conductivity, zeta potential, rheology, particle size distribution, and optical microscopy. A two-level factorial was used to evaluate the effects of changes in pH (4–7), sucrose concentration (0–15% w / w ), and NaCl concentration (0–1% w / w ) and different processing conditions. This study has important implications for the application of HOPN in the food industry, since it was found that the HOPN were efficient in forming emulsions with desirable characteristics under all conditions and that the presence of sucrose favored the characteristics of these emulsions. However, the presence of NaCl and acidic pH negatively influenced these characteristics leading to the conclusion that, under these conditions, the HOPN should be used in synergy with a stabilizing agent.