pH-driven-assembled soy peptide nanoparticles as particulate emulsifier for oil-in-water Pickering emulsion and their potential for encapsulation of vitamin D3

•Soy peptide-based nanoparticles (SPN) were fabricated through pH-driven process.•Obtained particles were surface-active and could form SPN-stabilized O/W interface.•Pickering-like emulsions protected Vitamin D3 from UV and oxidative deterioration.•Controlled release of vitamin D3 could be achieved by modulating particle concentration. Pickering emulsions prepared by food-grade particles have gained growing attention due to their promising application in functional food and pharmaceutical industries. In this study, we successfully fabricated soy peptide-based nanoparticles (SPN) through pH-driven process. Obtained particles with small particle size were surface active and shared intermediate wettability, and they could be well applied as an efficient particulate emulsifier for stabilizing oil-in-water Pickering emulsions at SPN concentration above 0.25 wt%. Furthermore, formed emulsions stabilized with SPN exhibited good protection towards Vitamin D3 against UV irradiation and oxidative deterioration, where controlled release of Vitamin D3in vitro could also be well achieved by modulating particle concentration. The whole process can contribute to a sustainable development of low-value peptide byproducts as functional food ingredients.