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 #353047
Research Project: Defining, Measuring, and Mitigating Attributes that Adversely Impact the Quality and Marketability of Foods

Location: Healthy Processed Foods Research

Title: Enhanced pH and thermal stability, solubility and antioxidant activity of resveratrol by nanocomplexation with a-lactalbumin

Author
item LIU, YUEXIANG - Shenzhen University
item FAN, YUTING - Shenzhen University
item GAO, LUYU - Shenzhen University
item Zhang, Yuzhu
item YI, JIANG - Shenzhen University

Submitted to: Food and Function
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/29/2018
Publication Date: 7/30/2018
Citation: Liu, Y., Fan, Y., Gao, L., Zhang, Y., Yi, J. 2018. Enhanced pH and thermal stability, solubility and antioxidant activity of resveratrol by nanocomplexation with a-lactalbumin. Food and Function. 9:4781-4790. https://doi.org/10.1039/c8fo01172a.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c8fo01172a

Interpretive Summary: Resveratrol is a polyphenol compound found mainly in berries, grapes, and red wines. Existing data suggest that resveratrol has many health-promoting activities such as protection against atherosclerosis, inhibition of platelet aggregation, and anticarcinogenic properties. However, the utilization of resveratrol as a nutraceutical in the food industry is currently limited due to its low solubility in aqueous solution and instability at certain pH levels, and temperatures. Thus, it is highly desirable to improve its solubility, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetic properties with encapsulations. In this study, nanoparticles of resveratrol complexed with milk protein alpha-lactalbumin were prepared. The impacts of nanoencapsulation of resveratrol on its water solubility, chemical stability under different pH and temperature conditions were investigated. The effect of encapsulation on the in vitro antioxidant activity of resveratrol was also evaluated. The results suggested that alpha-lactalbumin encapsulation of resveratrol can effectively protect it from degradation and oxidization, thus improves its pH- and temperature-stability and antioxidant activities. The information obtained may enable the expanded use of alpha-lactalbumin as an effective nanoscale carrier for delivering resveratrol and other lipophilic nutraceuticals in functional food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical products.

Technical Abstract: The health-promoting benefits of resveratrol (RES) has attracted significant attention. Poor water solubility and chemical stability, however, hindered its application. In this study, ALA-RES nanoparticle was prepared by a simple nanocomplexation protocol. The particle sizes of ALA and ALA-RES complex were 87.8, and 95.3 nm, respectively. AFM confirmed that both nanoparticles were spherical. XRD results confirmed that RES in ALA nanoparticles was amorphous. Fluorescence spectroscopy and FTIR showed that ALA-RES nanocomplex was formed mainly by hydrophobic interactions. The water solubility of RES in the particles increased by 30 times, compared to free RES. ALA nanocomplexation also appreciably improved the chemical stability of RES under all storage conditions, especially at pH 8.0 and high temperature. ALA-RES nanocomplex showed significantly higher in vitro antioxidant activity than free RES. The results showed that simple ALA-RES nanocomplex has the potential to be used as an effective antioxidant in vivo.