Recent developments on the freeze-thaw stability of Pickering emulsions and its application as nutrient delivery vehicles

This review comprehensively discussed the recent developments in enhancing the freeze-thaw (F-T) stability of Pickering emulsions, which is important for their application as nutrient delivery vehicles in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Pickering emulsions, stabilized by solid particles, have demonstrated promising stability and encapsulation capacity for bioactive ingredients. However, their stability is often compromised by F-T cycles, leading to the particle aggregation and phase separation. This is due to the formation of ice and oil crystals during freezing and the appearance of coalescence after thawing. This review outlined various strategies to improve the F-T stability of Pickering emulsions, including optimization of the continuous and dispersed phases, modifying interfacial emulsifiers, and adjusting the processing conditions such as heating pretreatment, ionic strength and pH values. Furthermore, this review elucidated the impact of F-T cycles on the delivery efficiency of Pickering emulsions and emphasized the need for novel stabilization techniques and tailored strategies to meet the specific requirements of various applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries. [Display omitted] •Strategies to improve the freeze-thaw (F-T) stability of Pickering emulsion are summarized.•The instability mechanism of Pickering emulsion during F-T cycles is illustrated.•Interfacial layer enhancement and gel formation contribute to F-T stability of emulsion.•Improved stability of Pickering emulsion contributes to better delivery efficiency.