Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Healthy Processed Foods Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #328835
Research Project: Defining, Measuring, and Mitigating Attributes that Adversely Impact the Quality and Marketability of Foods

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Physicochemical stability and in vitro bioaccessibility of ß-carotene nanoemulsions stabilized with whey protein-dextran conjugates

Author
item FAN, YUTING - Jiangnan University
item YI, JIANG - Shenzhen University
item Zhang, Yuzhu
item WEN, ZHEN - Shenzhen University
item ZHAO, LIQING - Shenzhen University

Submitted to: Food Hydrocolloids
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2016
Publication Date: 9/9/2016
Citation: Fan, Y., Yi, J., Zhang, Y., Wen, Z., Zhao, L. 2016. Physicochemical stability and in vitro bioaccessibility of ß-carotene nanoemulsions stabilized with whey protein-dextran conjugates. Food Hydrocolloids Journal. 63:256-264. doi:10.1016/j.foodhyd.2016.09.008.

Interpretive Summary: Vitamin A is an important micronutrient for our health, especially for our eyes. Vitamin A deficiency is a serious health problem that can lead to irreversible blindness. Vitamin A deficiency also weakens the immune system which in turn can result in fatal infections. The World Health Organization estimated that Vitamin A supplements have averted 1.25 million deaths in 40 countries since 1998. Dietary vitamin A can be obtained from animal sources in its active form or from vegetables and fruits as pro-vitamins which can be converted by the body to vitamin A. ß-carotene is the most well-known provitamin A carotenoid and it also has strong antioxidant activities. There is a strong demand for ß-carotene by the food and pharmacy-related industries. However, poor stability against heat, light, and oxygen as well as low solubility in aqueous solutions make its application difficult. This study investigated the effects of glycosylation of whey protein isolate on the physicochemical properties and the bioaccessibility of ß-carotene when it was loaded in nanoemulsions encapsulated with whey protein isolate. The information obtained in this study can be used to faciliate the development of nutraceuticals-loaded nanoemulsion delivery systems.

Technical Abstract: In this study, ß-carotene (BC)-loaded nanoemulsions encapsulated with native whey protein isolate (WPI) and WPI-dextran (DT, 5 kDa, 20 kDa, and 70 kDa) conjugates were prepared and the effects of glycosylation with various molecular weight DTs on the physicochemical property, lipolysis, and BC bioaccessibility were evaluated. Mean particle diameters of BC-loaded nanoemulsions stabilized with WPI-DT (5 kDa, 20 kDa, and 70 kDa) conjugates (156.8, 156.0, and 155.6 nm) were significantly lower than that stablized with native WPI (165.6 nm). The pH stability of BC-loaded nanoemulsions, especially when the pH was close to the isoelectric point of the proteins was remarkedly improved after glycosylation regardless of the molecular weight of DTs. No appreciably creaming or flocculation was observed for all nanoemulsions after 30 days of storage at 25 and 50 °C. BC retention was the highest at both temperatures when stabilized with WPI-DT (5 kDa) conjugates due to the relatively higher DPPH scavenging ability. When glycosylated 70 kDa DT, the encaplated nanoemulsions had remarkable inhibition on the extent of lipolysis and release of BC. A positively linear correlation between lipolysis and BC bioaccessibility was found. The information obtained in this study will faciliate the uses and applications of nutraceuticals-loaded nanoemulsion delivery system.