Ternary nanoparticles of sodium caseinate-zein-hexaglycerol monooleate: Fabrication, characterization, and curcumin encapsulation
Xinyu Zhang, Yingxue Cheng, Hong Lin, Hailong Zhang, Weinong Zhang, Junbo He
Abstract
To overcome the instability of sodium caseinate (NaCas) and zein binary nanoparticles in gastric digestion, and to improve the encapsulation of curcumin (Cur), hexaglycerol monooleate (HGMO) was employed as an anti-pepsin component to form ternary nanoparticles. The NaCas-Zein-HGMO nanoparticles were prepared using a self-assembly method that only required mixing at room temperature, and the optimal mass ratio for the components was determined to be 2:2:1. At a mass ratio of 1:20 between curcumin and zein, the NaCas-Zein-HGMO nanoparticles showed high encapsulation efficiency (91.18%) and provided effective chemical protection for curcumin. The Cur-NaCas-Zein-HGMO nanoparticles exhibited nanoscale dispersion, with a particle size about 236 nm, and demonstrated remarkable stability. In addition, the Cur-NaCas-Zein-HGMO nanoparticles exhibited improved resistance to simulated gastric fluid (SGF) digestion, increased antioxidant activity, sustained release profile, and exceptional rehydration capability. The results clearly showed that HGMO plays a crucial role in improving the physicochemical properties and encapsulation of curcumin of NaCas-Zein-HGMO nanoparticle. Hence, the novel ternary nanoparticles, NaCas-Zein-HGMO, have the potential to serve as an excellent delivery carrier for hydrophobic bioactive compounds, thereby mitigating their susceptibility to degradation by gastric digestion.