Soybeans contain oil bodies that are coated by a layer of oleosin proteins. In nature, this protein coating protects the oil bodies from environmental stresses and may be utilized by food manufacturers for the same purpose. In this study, oil bodies were extracted from soybean using an aqueous extraction method that involved blending, dispersion (pH 8.6), filtration, and centrifugation steps. The influence of NaCl (0-250 mM), thermal processing (30-90 degrees C, 20 min) and pH (2-8) on the properties and stability of the oil bodies was analyzed using zeta-potential, particle size, and creaming stability measurements. The extracted oil bodies were relatively small ( d 32 approximately 250 nm), and their zeta-potential went from around +12 mV to -20 mV as the pH was increased from 2 to 8, with an isoelectric point around pH 4. The oil bodies were stable to aggregation and creaming at low (pH = 2) and high (pH >/= 6) pH values but were unstable at intermediate values (3

Soybeans contain oil bodies that are naturally coated by a layer of phospholipids and proteins. In nature, this coating protects the oil bodies from environmental stresses and could be utilized by food manufacturers for the same purpose. However, natural oil bodies are physically unstable to aggregation because of the relatively weak electrostatic repulsion between them, which limits their application in many foods. In this study, oil bodies were extracted from soybean using an aqueous extraction method and then coated by a pectin layer using electrostatic deposition. The influence of NaCl (0-500 mM), pH (2-8), and freeze-thaw cycling (-20 degrees C, 22 h/40 degrees C, 2 h) on the properties and stability of the oil bodies coated by the pectin layer was analyzed using zeta-potential, particle size, and creaming stability measurements. These results suggest that pectin-coated oil bodies have similar or improved stability compared to uncoated oil bodies and may provide a new way of creating functional soy products for use in the food and other industries.