EMULSIFICATION PROPERTIES OF POLYESTERS AND SUCROSE ESTER BLENDS .1. CARBOHYDRATE FATTY-ACID POLYESTERS

A number of carbohydrate fatty acid polyesters, potential fat substitutes, were screened for their ability to reduce surface and interfacial tensions alone or as blends with commercial emulsifiers. Commercial sucrose ester emulsifiers (Ryoto, Mitsubishi-Kasei Food Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) were evaluated alone or blended with other sucrose esters or with other carbohydrate fatty acid polyesters, and their surfactant properties were examined in terms of their ability to reduce surface and interfacial tensions at different concentrations and to stabilize oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) food emulsions at room and refrigeration temperatures, respectively. In general, when used alone the carbohydrate polyesters were excellent stabilizers of w/o emulsions and poor stabilizers of o/w emulsions. Blending lipophilic carbohydrate polyesters with hydrophilic commercial emulsifiers, such as S-1670, produced stable o/w emulsions and unstable w/o emulsions. Our results suggest that emulsifier blends of potential fat substitutes with FDA-approved commercial sugar ester emulsifiers can be prepared for possible use in low-calorie foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals as o/w and w/o emulsifiers.