Stabilisation of pea protein-based emulsions using modified pea dietary fiber-caffeic acid complexes and construction of their curcumin-loaded systems.

This study aims to investigate the regulatory effects and mechanisms of pea dietary fiber-caffeic acid (G-PDF-CA) modified by dynamic high-pressure microfluidization (DHPM) combined with cellulase, acting as an emulsifier assistant, on the stability of pea protein-based (PP) emulsions and their curcumin-loading capacity. The results show that increasing the concentration of G-PDF-CA within an appropriate range can significantly improve the dispersibility and uniformity of emulsion droplets, making their distribution more compact. Meanwhile, it is accompanied by an increase in storage modulus, indicating that the elastic network structure of the emulsion is strengthened, and the water contact angle and interfacial protein adsorption rate are synchronously increased, ultimately endowing the emulsion with excellent thermal stability and storage stability. Among them, when the concentration of G-PDF-CA is 15%, the encapsulation efficiency of the system for curcumin reaches the peak value of 92.81%. In addition, this emulsion system can significantly improve the retention rate of curcumin in different environments (compared with the blank group and free curcumin), successfully constructing an efficient curcumin delivery system. This study clearly confirms that the pea dietary fiber after composite modification possesses excellent emulsification-assisting performance and active ingredient protection capacity, effectively realizing the high-value utilization of natural dietary fiber. The research results not only provide a solid theoretical basis for the efficient development and delivery of natural anti-inflammatory active ingredients, but also further expand the application scenarios of pea dietary fiber in the field of food functional carriers, and offer new ideas and research directions for the research and development innovation and technological upgrading of plant-based functional emulsions.