Advances in Chitosan-Based Pickering Emulsions and Their Food Applications

Chitosan, a natural linear cationic polysaccharide, can be used to design ‘green’ microparticles or nanoparticles to stabilize Pickering emulsions due to its good biodegradability and renewability. Therefore, it has found widespread food application prospect. Although chitosan has weak emulsifying ability, the active functional groups in its molecule can combine with other compounds through covalent or non-covalent interactions to form binary/ternary composite particles, which can improve its ability to stabilize emulsions. Environmentally responsive emulsions have recently become a popular research topic due to their ability to respond to different environmental stresses (pH and temperature). This paper summarizes recent progress in research on chitosan-based Pickering emulsions with respect to the types of chitosan-stabilized Pickering emulsions, graft-modified chitosan composite particle-stabilized Pickering emulsions and environmentally responsive emulsions, and it discusses the application of chitosan-based Pickering emulsions in food preservation, 3D food printing and functional factor carriers, as well as the obstacles encountered. Future prospects for the development of chitosan-based Pickering emulsions are proposed to provide a basis for the in-depth expansion of their applications in food.