Physical and sensory properties of model orange oil emulsion beverages prepared using pea protein-alginate conjugates and lecithin

With demand for plant-based beverages, this study explores model beverages based on orange oil emulsions stabilized by pea protein-alginate conjugates. The conjugate (10.0 g/L) was combined with 8.0 g/L lecithin to emulsify 200.0 mL/L orange oil that was then diluted to 1.0 mL/L orange oil to prepare a model beverage at pH 3. The physical stability and sensory properties of the beverage were compared to those stabilized with propylene glycol alginate and gum arabic. During 30-day storage at 4 °C, the conjugate beverage showed insignificant changes in volume-weighted mean diameter (9.53–12.94 μm), viscosity (5.54–5.76 mPa s), turbidity (951–981 NTU), zeta-potential (-25.2 to −27.7 mV), and color ( L ∗: 22.68–25.22; a ∗: 0.83–1.25; b ∗: 2.84–3.33). These parameters changed significantly for the gum arabic beverage at 4 °C and for all beverages at 20 °C. The propylene glycol alginate beverage was also stable during 4 °C storage, but the droplet size distribution coefficient decreased more significantly than the conjugate beverage (8.78–2.43 vs. 3.37 to 1.96). Sensory evaluation showed no significant differences in orange flavor, sweetness, sourness/tartness, and overall acceptance for all three beverages. These results indicate that pea protein-alginate conjugates can form stable acidic flavor oil-based beverages with sensory properties consistent with existing emulsifiers. • Model orange beverage was prepared with pea protein-alginate conjugates and lecithin. • The beverage had stable droplet size, viscosity, color, and turbidity at 4 °C but not 21 °C. • The beverage had similar physical stability to that made with propylene glycol alginate. • The beverage had better stability than that made with gum arabic. • The three beverages had similar sensory attributes and overall acceptance.