UC Berkeley

Seeds of the plant quince are a natural hydrocolloid source whose extract has shown promising results in stabilizing emulsions. The study aims to discover how quince seed extract's interfacial properties (dynamic surface tension and dilatational surface rheology) on an oil–water interface change with varying concentrations (between 0.01% and 1%), pH's (3, 7, and 11), and ionic strengths (0.1, 0.3, 0.5 M NaCl). The lowest concentration that yielded a statistically significant drop in interfacial was found as 0.02 % w/v. QSE dropped interfacial tension down to 16 mN/m at the highest concentration examined (1% w/v). Critical aggregation concentration (CAC) was identified as 0.23 % w/v, which is relatively low compared to hydrocolloids of similar nature. In the end, QSE was demonstrated to be an effective emulsion stabilizer and possesses some unique properties that help it distinguish itself from other macromolecular emulsifiers commonly employed in the food, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.