Emulsions are thermodynamically unstable systems generally stabilized by small surfactant molecules.
To answer sustainable development concerns, it is possible to replace the latter by natural emulsifiers
such as proteins and polysaccharides to formulate emulsions for the pharmaceutical field. In this work,
we describe oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by natural biopolymers. In a first approach, we prepared
emulsions with various binary mixtures of -lactoglobulin (-lg), gum arabic (GA) and xanthan gum (XG),
and assessed their stability over a 6-month period by zeta potential and granulometry measurements
in combination with Turbiscan and optical microscopy observations. The efficacy of the biopolymers to
stabilize emulsions was in the order GA < -lg:GA < -lg < XG = -lg:XG. In a second approach, we focused
on the determination of the stabilization mechanisms induced by these biopolymers, by interfacial tension
and rheological measurements. Different stabilization mechanisms could be highlighted: interfacial
adsorption for -lg and GA when used alone, thickening of the continuous phase by XG with possible
interfacial adsorption, formation of an interfacial bi-layer by the -lg:GA mixture, and combination of
-lg interfacial adsorption and XG thickening of the aqueous phase for the -lg:XG mixture.