Hybrid Bionanoparticle-Stabilized Pickering Emulsions for Quercetin Delivery: Effect of Interfacial Composition on Release, Lipolysis, and Bioaccessibility

Pickering emulsions stabilized by gliadin/phospholipid nanoparticles were assembled employing a two-stage method: (i) coarse emulsions containing large oil droplets (d = 4.0 to 40 μm) were formed by high-speed shearing; (ii) fine emulsions containing small droplets (d = 0.71 to 1.1 μm) were then created by breaking down the large droplets using microfluidization. The resultant emulsions contained nanoparticle-coated oil droplets that were resistant to gravitational separation. The interfacial elasticity and encapsulation efficiency of the emulsions increased as the interfacial phospholipid level was increased. Conversely, increasing the interfacial phospholipid level inhibited lipid digestion, which was presumably because the phospholipids induced droplet coalescence in the stomach, which decreased the oil–water interfacial area accessible to the lipase. Finally, a higher interfacial phospholipid level reduced the chemical degradation and enhanced the bioaccessibility of quercetin, which may improve its bioactivity.