Emulsifiers allow oil and water-based substances to mix, and can come from animal or plant sources. Lecithin, biosurfactants, and vegetable emulsifying wax are common types of vegetable emulsifiers used in food production, cosmetics, and cleaning products. Organic surfactants are being developed from plant sources as an alternative to petroleum-based surfactants.
Emulsifiers are chemicals that allow oil and water-based substances to form a stable mixture, or colloid, rather than separate. At the molecular level, an emulsifier consists of a water-soluble end and a water-soluble end. Emulsifiers can come from animal or plant sources. The most common types of vegetable emulsifiers include lecithin, biosurfactants, and vegetable emulsifying wax.
Lecithin is a fatty acid found in cell membranes and cell walls. It was originally isolated from egg yolks. In the late 20th century, however, most commercial lecithin was extracted from plant sources, such as soybeans, coconut oil or palm oil.
In food production, lecithin-based plant emulsifiers have a variety of uses. Most often, they keep the various ingredients in foods from separating over time. The oils in peanut butter, for example, will often rise to the top of the jar without the aid of some sort of vegetable emulsifier. On the other hand, brominated vegetable oils are often added as opacifying liquids to liquids, such as already stable fruit juices.
Surfactants or surfactants are a class of emulsifiers that work by reducing the surface tension in water and oil molecules. Both commercial and household cleaners often use surfactants, which can dissolve the bonds between surfaces and contaminants. Most surfactants are petroleum-based, which many believe has a severely negative environmental impact. Scientists in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, however, were starting to produce various types of organic surfactants, or biosurfactants, from plant sources. Vegetable emulsifiers that function as surfactants can be extracted from vegetable oils in the same way that lecithin is made.
Vegetable emulsifiers can also be made into waxes which are used in cosmetics to suspend pigments within a water or oil base. Cosmetics often contain animal-based emulsifiers which some consumers find objectionable. Vegetable emulsifying wax may be a viable alternative for some people, although others may object to trace amounts of man-made chemicals that can be found in the wax.
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