Publications by authors named "Maria-Carmen Alfaro-Rodriguez"

The main objective of this work is to investigate the influence of shear on the rheological properties and physical stability of aqueous dispersions of flaxseed fiber. The variable to consider will be the homogenization rate in two different rotor-stator homogenizers, Ultraturrax T50 or T25. In order to achieve the proposed objective, small amplitude oscillatory tests, flow curves, and multiple light scattering measurements were carried out.

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Article Synopsis
  • - A three-step protocol was used to create 15% lemon essential oil emulgels in water using surfactants (Tween 80 and Span 20) and 0.4% citrus peel pectin as a gelling agent, with calcium chloride (CaCl) included to promote gel formation.
  • - Particle size analysis revealed a complex microstructure, showing oil droplets within a gel matrix, with varying stability depending on the CaCl/pectin mass ratio, affecting mechanisms like syneresis and creaming.
  • - Comparing dynamic viscoelastic properties over time, the emulgel with a lower CaCl/pectin ratio demonstrated better fluid connectivity and stability, illustrated by higher modulus and viscosity values, while the
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Zein, a subproduct of the food industry and a protein, possesses limited applications due to its high hydrophobic character. The objective of this research was to investigate the influence of homogenization pressure and cycles on the volumetric mean diameter (D), span values, and Turbiscan Stability Index (TSI) using the response surface methodology for microfluidized emulsions containing zein as a unique stabilizer. Results showed that homogenization pressure seems to be the most influential parameter to obtain enhanced physical stability and droplet size distributions, with the optimum being 20,000 psi.

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Background: New consumer habits are forcing the food industry to develop new and healthy products. In response to this tendency, in this investigation, we obtained nanoemulgels by microfluidization containing inulin fibre and omega-3 fatty acids. First, the influence of the number of microfluidization cycles on the physical properties of the nanoemulsions was studied.

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Background: Nanoemulsions formulated with citric essential oils are currently of interest because of their physical and chemical properties and multiple applications in areas such as the food industry or agrochemicals. These are thermodynamically unstable and have almost Newtonian flow behaviour, but a suitable formulation allows systems to be obtained with good physical stability and rheological properties. The addition of pectin makes this possible.

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Background: Nowadays, it is of great interest to develop stable and sustainable formulations that act as nanocarriers of active ingredients. In this work, the droplet size distribution, rheology and physical stability of nanoemulsions with improved properties containing rosemary essential oil and biopolymers as a function of the concentration of these polysaccharides were investigated.

Results: Mean diameters below 150 nm were achieved, indicating nanostructures were obtained.

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Background: White thyme essential oil, which can be incorporated in clean-label and food emulsion-based products, is a natural antimicrobial agent. However, emulsions containing essential oils commonly undergo Ostwald ripening as the main destabilization process. The main objective of this work was to evaluate various strategies for the inhibition of Ostwald ripening so as to develop stable nanoemulsions containing white thyme essential oil as food preservative and Kolliphor EL as surfactant.

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The objective of this work is to obtain a stable and natural antimicrobial delivery system. Thus, the effect of the addition of a natural polysaccharide such as welan gum on the linear viscoelastic properties, flow behaviour, droplet size distribution and physical stability of thyme oil/W emulsions formulated with a wheat-derived surfactant was studied. All emulsions obtained show submicron diameters regardless of the concentration of welan.

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