Effect of Gum Arabic, Gum Ghatti and Sugar Beet Pectin as Interfacial Layer on Lipid Digestibility in Oil-in-Water Emulsions

Stability of electrostatically stabilized emulsions and its encapsulation of astaxanthin against environmental stresses: Effect of sodium caseinate-sugar beet pectin addition order

Two addition orders, i.e., the layer-by-layer (L) and mixed biopolymer (M) orders, were used to generate sodium caseinate - sugar beet pectin electrostatically stabilized o/w emulsions with 0.5% oil and varying sodium caseinate: sugar beet pectin ratios (3:1-1:3) at pH 4.5. Emulsion stability against environmental stresses (i.e., pH, salt addition, thermal treatment, storage and in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion) and its astaxanthin encapsulation against degradation during storage and in vitro digestion were evaluated. Results indicated that a total biopolymer concentration of 0.5% was optimal, with the preferred sodium caseinate-sugar beet pectin ratios for L and M emulsions being 1:1 and 1:3, respectively. L emulsions generally exhibited smaller droplet diameters than M emulsions across all ratios, except at 1:3. Lowering the pH to 1.5 substantially reduced the net negative charge of all emulsions, with only L emulsions precipitating at pH 3. M emulsions showed greater tolerance to salt addition, remaining stable up to 500 mM sodium and calcium concentrations, whereas L emulsions destabilized at levels exceeding 50 mM and 30 mM, respectively. All emulsions were stable when heated at 37 °C or 90 °C for 30 min. Astaxanthin degradation rates increased with prolonged storage, reaching 61.66% and 54.08% by day 7 for L and M emulsions, respectively. Encapsulation efficiency of astaxanthin in freshly prepared M emulsions (86.85%) was significantly higher compared to L emulsions (72.82%). M emulsions had 30% and 25% higher encapsulation efficiency of astaxanthin than L emulsions after in vitro digestion for 120 min and 240 min respectively. This study offers suggestions for interface design and process optimization to improve the performance of protein-polysaccharide emulsion systems, such as in beverages and dairy products, as well as their delivery effect of bioactives.

Effects of pile fermentation on the physicochemical, functional, and biological properties of tea polysaccharides

This study investigated the influence of pile fermentation on the physicochemical, functional, and biological properties of tea polysaccharides (TPS). Results indicated that the extraction yield, uronic acid content, and polyphenol content of TPS greatly increased from 1.8, 13.1 and 6.3 % to 4.1, 27.9, and 7.8 %, respectively, but the molecular weight markedly decreased from 153.7 to 76.0 kDa after pile fermentation. Additionally, the interfacial, emulsion formation, and emulsion stabilization properties of TPS were significantly improved after pile fermentation. For instance, 1.0 wt% TPS isolated from dark tea (D-TPS) can fabricate 8.0 wt% MCT oil-in-water nanoemulsion (d₃₂ ≈ 159 nm) with potent storage stability. Moreover, the antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities of D-TPS was higher than that of TPS isolated from sun-dried raw tea (R-TPS). Overall, this study indicated that pile fermentation markedly affected the physicochemical and structural characteristics of TPS, thereby improving their functional and biological properties.

Emulsion-Based Delivery Systems to Enhance the Functionality of Bioactive Compounds: Towards the Use of Ingredients from Natural, Sustainable Sources

In recent years, the trend in the population towards consuming more natural and sustainable foods has increased significantly. This claim has led to the search for new sources of bioactive compounds and extraction methods that have less impact on the environment. Moreover, the formulation of systems to protect these compounds is also focusing on the use of ingredients of natural origin. This article reviews novel, natural alternative sources of bioactive compounds with a positive impact on sustainability. In addition, it also contains information on the most recent studies based on the use of natural (especially from plants) emulsifiers in the design of emulsion-based delivery systems to protect bioactive compounds. The properties of these natural-based emulsion-delivery systems, as well as their functionality, including in vitro and in vivo studies, are also discussed. This review provides relevant information on the latest advances in the development of emulsion delivery systems based on ingredients from sustainable natural sources.

Cashew Gum: A Review of Brazilian Patents and Pharmaceutical Applications with a Special Focus on Nanoparticles

Natural polysaccharides are structures composed of highly diversified biological macromolecules whose properties have been exploited by a diversity of industries. Until 2018, the polysaccharides market raised more than US $ 12 billion worldwide, while an annual growth forecast of 4.8% is expected by 2026. The food industry is largely responsible for the consumption of this plant-source material, produced by microbiological fermentation. Among the used polysaccharides, gums are hydrocolloids obtained from a variety of sources and in different forms, being composed of salts of calcium, potassium, magnesium and sugar monomers. Their non-toxicity, hydrophilicity, viscosity, biodegradability, biocompatibility and sustainable production are among their main advantages. Although Brazil is amongst the largest producers of cashew gum, reaching 50 tons per year, the polysaccharide is not being used to its full potential, in particular, with regard to its uses in pharmaceuticals. Cashew gum (CG), obtained from Anacardium occidentale L., caught the attention of the industry only in 1970; in 1990, its production started to grow. Within the Brazilian academy, the groups from the Federal University of Ceará and Piauí are devoting the most efforts to the study of cashew gum, with a total of 31 articles already published. The number of patents in the country for innovations containing cashew tree gum has reached 14, including the technological process for the purification of cashew tree gum, comparison of physical and chemical methods for physicochemical characterizations, and optimum purification methodology. This scenario opens a range of opportunities for the use of cashew gum, mainly in the development of new pharmaceutical products, with a special interest in nanoparticles.

Physiological fluid interfaces: Functional microenvironments, drug delivery targets, and first line of defense

Fluid interfaces, i.e. the boundary layer of two liquids or a liquid and a gas, play a vital role in physiological processes as diverse as visual perception, oral health and taste, lipid metabolism, and pulmonary breathing. These fluid interfaces exhibit a complex composition, structure, and rheology tailored to their individual physiological functions. Advances in interfacial thin film techniques have facilitated the analysis of such complex interfaces under physiologically relevant conditions. This allowed new insights on the origin of their physiological functionality, how deviations may cause disease, and has revealed new therapy strategies. Furthermore, the interactions of physiological fluid interfaces with exogenous substances is crucial for understanding certain disorders and exploiting drug delivery routes to or across fluid interfaces. Here, we provide an overview on fluid interfaces with physiological relevance, namely tear films, interfacial aspects of saliva, lipid droplet digestion and storage in the cell, and the functioning of lung surfactant. We elucidate their structure-function relationship, discuss diseases associated with interfacial composition, and describe therapies and drug delivery approaches targeted at fluid interfaces. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Fluid interfaces are inherent to all living organisms and play a vital role in various physiological processes. Examples are the eye tear film, saliva, lipid digestion & storage in cells, and pulmonary breathing. These fluid interfaces exhibit complex interfacial compositions and structures to meet their specific physiological function. We provide an overview on physiological fluid interfaces with a focus on interfacial phenomena. We elucidate their structure-function relationship, discuss diseases associated with interfacial composition, and describe novel therapies and drug delivery approaches targeted at fluid interfaces. This sets the scene for ocular, oral, or pulmonary surface engineering and drug delivery approaches.

Bile salts in digestion and transport of lipids

Because of their unusual chemical structure, bile salts (BS) play a fundamental role in intestinal lipid digestion and transport. BS have a planar arrangement of hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties, which enables the BS molecules to form peculiar self-assembled structures in aqueous solutions. This molecular arrangement also has an influence on specific interactions of BS with lipid molecules and other compounds of ingested food and digestive media. Those comprise the complex scenario in which lipolysis occurs. In this review, we discuss the BS synthesis, composition, bulk interactions and mode of action during lipid digestion and transport. We look specifically into surfactant-related functions of BS that affect lipolysis, such as interactions with dietary fibre and emulsifiers, the interfacial activity in facilitating lipase and colipase anchoring to the lipid substrate interface, and finally the role of BS in the intestinal transport of lipids. Unravelling the roles of BS in the processing of lipids in the gastrointestinal tract requires a detailed analysis of their interactions with different compounds. We provide an update on the most recent findings concerning two areas of BS involvement: lipolysis and intestinal transport. We first explore the interactions of BS with various dietary fibres and food emulsifiers in bulk and at interfaces, as these appear to be key aspects for understanding interactions with digestive media. Next, we explore the interactions of BS with components of the intestinal digestion environment, and the role of BS in displacing material from the oil-water interface and facilitating adsorption of lipase. We look into the process of desorption, solubilisation of lipolysis, products and formation of mixed micelles. Finally, the BS-driven interactions of colloidal particles with the small intestinal mucus layer are considered, providing new findings for the overall assessment of the role of BS in lipid digestion and intestinal transport. This review offers a unique compilation of well-established and most recent studies dealing with the interactions of BS with food emulsifiers, nanoparticles and dietary fibre, as well as with the luminal compounds of the gut, such as lipase-colipase, triglycerides and intestinal mucus. The combined analysis of these complex interactions may provide crucial information on the pattern and extent of lipid digestion. Such knowledge is important for controlling the uptake of dietary lipids or lipophilic pharmaceuticals in the gastrointestinal tract through the engineering of novel food structures or colloidal drug-delivery systems.