Sunflower phospholipid fractions in ice cream: effects on emulsion stability, rheology, and microstructure

This study provides a quantitative evaluation of structure-function relationships in ice cream emulsions stabilized with phospholipid fractions derived from crude lecithin, a valuable byproduct after the degumming process in sunflower oil refining. Four purified fractions with varying phosphatidylcholine (PC) contents, crude lecithins and a commercial product, were incorporated into an optimized base formulation (1.04% salep, 0.48% phospholipids). Microstructural analysis revealed that Fraction 4 (highest PC content) produced the smallest and most uniform oil particles. These results correlated strongly with zeta potential and particle size (0.391 mu m), confirming the role of PC enrichment in enhancing interfacial stability. While salep concentration primarily governed rheological properties (K ranged from 3.0 to 52.3 Pa.s(n) and n from 0.43 to 0.72), phospholipid composition significantly affected zeta potential (-24.2 to -28.8 mV), particle size (0.427-0.547 mu m), and overrun (22.7-46.2%). The findings highlight sunflower-derived phospholipids as sustainable, clean-label emulsifiers for ice cream.