Improving the Pickering stabilizing ability of gum Arabic by hydrophobic modification in aqueous medium

Due to gum Arabic’s (GA) water solubility, large amount of it is require to form a stable emulsion, which potentially limiting its application as an emulsion stabilizer. To address this, GA’s surface was hydrophobically altered in an aqueous environment using benzoyl chloride. Both unaltered and modified GA were analyzed using FTIR, SEM, TGA-DSC, and EDX. The impact of particle concentrations, oil-water ratios, and stabilizing mechanisms on oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by benzoylated gum Arabic (BGA) was systematically examined. Findings indicated that GA’s stabilizing ability increased (by 90%) after benzoyl chloride modification. This was evident in the emulsion stability as particle concentration rose, with only 0.2 wt% of BGA particles required to form coalescence-resistant emulsions with a 0.7 oil volume fraction, while 2 wt% of unmodified GA particles failed to produce stable emulsions. This significant improvement in emulsion stability suggests that BGA, rather than its native form, has potential applications in cosmetics, food, and drug delivery. Graphic abstract: (Figure presented.)