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Antimicrobial Kinetics of Nanoemulsions Stabilized with Protein:Pectin Electrostatic Complexes

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Abstract

Pectin is an anionic carbohydrate present in many plant-based materials that can interact with positively charged macromolecules, such as proteins, to form electrostatic complexes with promising applications. The aim of this study was to form and characterize whey protein isolate (WPI):high or low methoxylated pectin (HMP or LMP, respectively) electrostatic complexes. Then, the surface activity of the complexes and their capacity to form and stabilize nanoemulsions was assessed. Finally, the impact of the interfacial composition on the antimicrobial killing kinetics of essential oil nanoemulsions against Escherichia coli was evaluated. First, a stronger complexation was observed at pH below 5, where pectin and protein were negatively and positively charged, respectively. Additionally, LMP led to the formation of stronger complexes in comparison to HMP due to the presence of more ionizable carboxylic groups and therefore it was more negatively charged. Second, protein:pectin complexes were more effective than the biopolymers alone in order to form essential oil nanoemulsions, maintaining their oil droplet size stable during at least 30 days. And third, WPI:LMP complex-stabilized antimicrobial nanoemulsions resulted in a slower and lower Escherichia coli killing kinetics in comparison to WPI:HMP complexes, evidencing that the compactness of the interfacial layer determines the interaction with bacterial cells. Hence, the diffusion of the antimicrobial compounds from the lipid core through the interfacial layer and towards bacteria might be modulated by controlling the interfacial composition using WPI:pectin complexes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO/FEDER, UE) throughout projects AGL2015-65975-R and RTI2018-094268-B-C21. María Artiga-Artigas thanks the University of Lleida and Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico, for the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research funds. Heloísa Helena de Abreu Martins thanks for the scholarship financed by “Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior” (CAPES), Brazil—finance code 001. Laura Salvia-Trujillo thanks the “Secretaria d’Universitats i Recerca del Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya” for the Beatriu de Pinós post-doctoral grant (BdP2016-00336).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Technology, University of Lleida—Agrotecnio Center, Av. Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, 25198, Lleida, Spain

    María Artiga-Artigas, Olga Martín-Belloso & Laura Salvia-Trujillo

  2. Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Centro de Biotecnología, Technological Institute of Monterrey, FEMSA, Av. Eugenio Garza Sada Sur 2501, 64849, Monterrey, NL, Mexico

    María Artiga-Artigas & Olga Martín-Belloso

  3. Department of Food Science, Federal University of Lavras, Av. Dr. Sylvio Menicucci 1001, Lavras, 37200000, Brazil

    Heloísa Helena de Abreu-Martins & Roberta Hilsdorf Piccoli

  4. Department of Food Physics and Meat Science, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, University of Hohenheim, Garbenstrasse 21/25, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Benajmin Zeeb

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  1. María Artiga-Artigas
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Artiga-Artigas, M., de Abreu-Martins, H.H., Zeeb, B. et al. Antimicrobial Kinetics of Nanoemulsions Stabilized with Protein:Pectin Electrostatic Complexes. Food Bioprocess Technol 13, 1893–1907 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-020-02531-9

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