A comparative study of emulsifiers for curcumin-loaded emulsion coatings: Enhancing delivery and stability to inhibit heterocyclic amines in air-fried chicken wings.

Abstract

To overcome the poor solubility and instability of curcumin, an oil-in-water emulsions were prepared using four food-grade emulsifiers (MSP, SC, SSOS, SE). Their physicochemical properties, stability, and antioxidant capacity were characterized. And their inhibition efficacy in heterocyclic amines (HAs) was evaluated by coating chicken wings prior to air-frying (190 °C, 15 min). The SC-stabilized emulsion (Cur-NE-10gSC) exhibited superior stability with droplet size of 164.1 nm and PDI of 0.187, and achieved 93% reduction in total HAs (from 4.59 to 0.30 ng/g, p < 0.05), outperforming its non-emulsified counterpart and other formulations. CLSM analysis revealed that SE-based emulsions possessed the best skin penetration, correlating with their high sensory acceptability. This study demonstrates that emulsification, particularly with SC and SE, is a highly effective strategy for delivering curcumin, significantly enhancing its bioavailability, stability, and functional efficacy in inhibiting HAs formation while maintaining sensory quality, offering a practical solution for safer meat processing.