*2.5. Emulsification Activity*

The emulsification activity of the biosurfactant was determined following the method described by Gaur et al. [21]. Vegetable oils from soybeans, corn, canola and peanuts were added at a 1:1 proportion (*v*/*v*) to an aqueous biosurfactant solution at concentrations of 10, 5.0 and 2.5 mg/mL in glass tubes and the content was vortexed for 2 min at a frequency of 50 Hz. After 24 h, the emulsification index (E24) was determined according to the equation:

$$\mathrm{E\_{24}} = \frac{\mathrm{h\_e}}{\mathrm{h\_t}} \times 100\tag{2}$$

in which h<sup>e</sup> is the height of the emulsion layer and h<sup>t</sup> is the total height of the mixture. All samples were stored at room temperature.
