Development of pH-driven zein/tea saponin composite nanoparticles for encapsulation and oral delivery of curcumin. (1st December 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yuan, Yongkai; Xiao, Junzi; Zhang, Peiyao; Ma, Mengjie; Wang, Dongfeng; Xu, Ying
• Is Part Of: Food chemistry. Volume 364(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-12-01
• Subjects: Zein -- Tea saponin -- Curcumin -- pH-driven nanoparticles; Food -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Food -- Composition -- Periodicals; 664
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2021.130401
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-8146

Abstract

Highlights: pH-driven zein/tea saponin composite nanoparticles were first prepared. The system had properties of alcohol-free, low-energy and high loading capacity. The fabricated nanoparticles had good physicochemical stability and redispersibility. The solubility of curcumin increased by about 290 times for powder nanoparticles. The designed nanoparticles increased bioaccessibility of curcumin by about 5 times. Abstract: The purpose of this paper was to overcome the challenges of curcumin by zein/tea saponin composite nanoparticles (Z/TSNPs) without any organic reagents and high-energy equipment. The spherical Z/TSNPs exhibited good physical stability, the conditions of which included pH at 5.0–8.0, heating at 80 ℃, ionic strength within 100 mM, and storage at 25 ℃ for 30 days. Meanwhile, Z/TSNPs showed excellent redispersibility. Z/TSNPs were used to encapsulate and deliver curcumin (Cur-Z/TSNPs), showing encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of 83.73% and 22.33%, respectively. Cur-Z/TSNPs exhibited good chemical stability during storage, and the effect of light on Cur-Z/TSNPs was smaller than that of free curcumin. Furthermore, Cur-Z/TSNPs improved the solubilization and bioaccessibility of curcumin about 290 and 5 times, respectively. Besides, the encapsulation changed the crystalline state of curcumin to amorphous, and the pH-driven mechanism was probably related to hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions.