Erythorbyl laurate as a potential food additive with multi-functionalities: Interfacial characteristics and antioxidant activity

• Erythorbyl laurate (EL) is a promising candidate for a multi-functional food additive.
• Foam stability of EL was 3 times (half-life 24.3 h) higher than Tween 20 (8.0 h).
• EL retains the antioxidant activity of erythorbic acid after C-5 selective esterification.
• EL at the oil-water interface effectively inhibits lipid oxidation in O/W emulsions.

The interfacial characteristics and antioxidant activities of erythorbyl laurate were investigated to provide information on practical applications as a multi-functional food additive. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of erythorbyl laurate was 0.101 mM and its foam stability was three times (half-life 24.33 ± 0.94 h) higher than that of Tween 20 (8.00 ± 1.63 h). In free radical scavenging assay, the negligible decrease in EC50 of erythorbyl laurate compared to erythorbic acid manifested that C-5 selective esterification of erythorbic acid with an acyl group (lauric acid) did not reduce the inherent antioxidant activity of the donor (erythorbic acid). Erythorbyl laurate formed lipid peroxides slower (i.e. retarded oxidation) in an emulsion system than did erythorbic acid. The localization of erythorbyl laurate as an emulsifier allowed the antioxidant molecules to be concentrated at the oil-water interface where oxidation is prevalent, which led to more effective retardation of lipid oxidation.

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