Abstract:Phytosterols (PS) are water-insoluble and oil-insoluble, and the construction of oil-in-water (O/W)-type nanoemulsions is a common method to enhance their bioavailability and organoleptic qualities, while the stabilizing mechanism of O/W-type nanoemulsions by its own emulsification has not yet been received attention. In this study, phytosterol nanoemulsion (PSN) loaded with different mass fractions of phytosterols (0.1%, 0.5% and 0.9%) was firstly constructed, and the effects of PS concentration on oil-water interfacial tension, as well as microstructure, particle size, ζ-potential, storage stability, oxidative stability, and digestive properties of the emulsion were systematically investigated. The results showed that PS could reduce the oil-water interfacial tension and could form some crystals at the interface, which affected the physical and chemical stability of PSN; the particle sizes of the produced PSN ranged from 165.3 nm to 247.2 nm, and the ζ-potentials ranged from -24.3 mV to -28.4 mV, which increased gradually with the increase of the PS concentration; the emulsions could maintain a good stability after being stored at 4 ℃ for 28 days at 0.1% and 0.5% PSN. However, the storage stability, oxidative stability and digestive properties of the emulsions were not affected by the concentration of PS. However, 0.9% PSN showed optimal kinetic stability under 60 ℃ storage conditions. In addition, the results of the accelerated oxidation test and digestion test showed that higher concentrations of PS could effectively inhibit lipid oxidation and the release of free fatty acids in emulsions (<31.41%). The results of this study may provide theoretical support for the precise development of PS functional foods or excipients.