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An emulsion based on a combination of highly-valued black seed oil (BSO) and honey shall be introduced as an emerging nutraceutical since the emulsion could be an efficient carrier for bioactive compounds from both. This study aimed to determine effect of BSO, honey, whey protein concentrate (WPC) and their interaction on antioxidant activity (i.e. IC50, the concentration of sample required to scavenge 50% of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radicals), elastic modulus (G′) and creaming index (CI) of O/W emulsions by means of a response surface methodology. Twenty emulsions were ultrasonically prepared by using various combinations of BSO (10–20%), honey (10–20% and WPC (2–6%) based on a central composite design. Regression analysis (R2 = 0.92–1.00) revealed that a decrease in the IC50 was mainly due to significant (p < 0.05) linear effect of honey and WPC. The quadratic effect of WPC significantly increased the G′ yet decreased the CI. Synergistic effects of BSO-honey on IC50 and G′ were also significant (p < 0.05). However, the antagonistic effect (p < 0.05) of honey-WPC seemed to increase the IC50. By using the fitted quadratic models, the optimized levels of BSO (20.0%), honey (18.2%) and WPC (6.0%) were proposed and predicted to provide the desired emulsion with IC50 = 0.12 mg/ml, G′ = 606.65 Pa and CI = 1.45%. These values were successfully validated with their respective experimental values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soybean oil (SBO), palm kernel olein (PKO) and their binary blends (containing 5–40% PKO) were studied for their physicochemical characteristics. Decreases in band absorbencies of the resultant Fourier transform infrared spectra were observed in regions attributable to vibrations of the functional groups of unsaturated fatty acids, mainly the =C–H cis stretching at 3009 cm−1and –C=C cis stretching at 1657 cm−1. The solid fat content was measurable in the blends containing 15–40% PKO at 5 and 10 °C, ranging within 4–20% and 2–13%, respectively. The differential scanning calorimetry melting curve for SBO exhibited more complex transition peaks, suggesting a polymorphic transformation when compared with PKO with a simpler . Blending of SBO with PKO reduced the complexity caused by the polymorphic transformation, featuring the endotherms that only related to the β′ fat crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]