Modulating in vitro gastrointestinal digestion of nanocellulose-stabilized pickering emulsions by altering particle surface charge

Unlocking curcumin's revolutionary: Improvement of stability and elderly digestion by soybean oil bodies and soybean protein-chitosan complex based Pickering emulsion

Curcumin shows promise for disease prevention and health improvement, but its limited water solubility and vulnerability to degradation reduce its bioavailability, while its biological fate in elderly is unclear. Oil bodies are natural pre-emulsified oil droplets that serve as carriers for functional nutrients. In this study, soybean protein isolate (SPI) was complexed with chitosan (CS) for the purpose of stabilizing the soybean oil body-curcumin emulsion, resulting in the formation of the soybean isolate protein-chitosan-soybean oil bodies-curcumin Pickering emulsion (SPI-CS-SOB-C). The study examined the digestive properties, bioaccessibility of curcumin, free fatty acids (FFA) release, and microstructure changes of SPI-CS-SOB-C through an in vitro elderly digestion model. The findings indicated that curcumin was effectively encapsulated within the SPI-CS-SOB-C, achieving an encapsulation efficiency of 97.7 %, which resulted in notable enhancements in light, heat, and storage stability, as well as an extended half-life of curcumin to 85 months. In vitro elderly digestion demonstrated that SPI-CS-SOB-C notably enhanced the bioaccessibility of curcumin, increasing it from 14.3 % to 51 %. The low FFA release of SPI-CS-SOB-C (23.06 %) suggested its potential suitability for incorporation into low-fat food products and using in food products for the elderly. The results of this study could offer theoretical insights for the utilization of oil bodies in food applications and the delivery of functional nutrients.

Effects of compound emulsifiers on the characteristics and stability of nano-emulsions from pollock bones

To improve the stability of pollock bone broth, compound emulsifiers were employed and evaluated in nano-emulsions from pollock bones (PBNs). The microstructure, creaming index, particle size, zeta potential, and viscosity of PBNs were characterized and the stability of PBNs was investigated. It revealed that the concentration of compound emulsifiers is one of the principal factors for particle size, zeta potential, and viscosity of PBNs, and 0.9% of sodium caseinate and sucrose fatty acid ester (CS-SE) can make the PBN display good stability. Its particle size changed from 81.17 ± 1.33 nm to 19.62 ± 0.21 nm when the temperature ranged from 40 °C to 80 °C, and its creaming index could reach a maximum (90.83%) among all PBNs in 4 months of freeze-thaw assays. PBN stability could be improved by the compound emulsifier (CS-SE), which offers a theoretical basis for the application of pollock bone broth.

Enhancing cellulose-stabilized multiphase/Pickering emulsions systems: A molecular dynamics perspective

Cellulose stabilized multiphase systems (CSMS) have garnered significant attention due to their ultra-stabilization mechanism and vast potential across different fields. CSMS have found valuable applications in scientific disciplines, including Food Science, Pharmaceutical Science, Material Science, and related fields, owing to their beneficial attributes such as sustainability, safety, renewability, and non-toxicity. Furthermore, MPS exhibit novel characteristics that enable multiple mechanisms to produce HIPEs, aerogels, and oleogels revealing undiscovered information. Therefore, to explore the undiscovered phenomena of MPS, molecular level insights using advanced simulation/computational approaches are essential. The molecular dynamics simulation (MDS), play a valuable role in analyzing the interactions of ternary interphase. The MDS have successfully quantified the interactions of MPS by generating, visualizing, and analyzing trajectories. Through MDS, researchers have explored CSMS at the molecular level and advanced their applications in 3D printing, packaging, preparation, drug delivery, encapsulation, biosensors, electronic devices, biomaterials, and energy conservation. This review highlights the remarkable advancements in CSMS over the past five years, along with contributions of MDS in evaluating the relationships that dictate the functionality and properties of CSMS. By integrating experimental and computational methods, we underscore the potential to innovate and optimize these multiphase systems for groundbreaking applications.

Food nanotechnology: opportunities and challenges

Food nanotechnology, which applies nanotechnology to food systems ranging from food production to food processing, packaging, and transportation, provides tremendous opportunities for conventional food science and industry innovation and improvement. Although great progress and rapid growth have been achieved in food nanotechnology research owing to the unique food features rendered by nanotechnology, at a fundamental level, food nanotechnology is still in its initial stages and the potential adverse effects of nanomaterials are still a controversial problem that attract public attention. Food-derived nanomaterials, compared to some inorganic nanoparticles and synthetic organic macromolecules, can be digested rapidly and produce similar digestion products to those produced normally, which become the mainstream and trend for food nanotechnology in practical applications, and are expected to be a vital tool for addressing the security problem and easing public concerns. These food-derived materials enable the favourable characteristics of nanostructures to be combined with the safety, biocompatibility, and bioactivity of natural food. Very recently, diverse food-derived nanomaterials have been explored and widely applied in multiple fields. Herein, we thoroughly summarize the fabrication and development of nanomaterials for use in food technology, as well as the recent advances in the improvement of food quality, revolutionizing food supply, and boosting food industries based on foodborne nanomaterials. The current challenges in food nanotechnology are also discussed. We hope this review can provide a detailed reference for experts and food manufacturers and inspire researchers to participate in the development of food nanotechnology for highly efficient food industry growth.

In Vitro Gastrointestinal Digestion of Corn-Oil-in-Water Pickering Emulsions: Influence of Lignin-Containing Cellulose Nanofibrils Loading

There is a growing trend in incorporating biomass-based engineered nanomaterials into food products to enhance their quality and functionality. The zeta potential, droplet size, microstructure, and content of free fatty acid (FFA) release were determined to investigate the influence of a plant-derived particle stabilizer, i.e., lignin-containing cellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs). Remarkable differences were observed during digestion stages, which were found to be correlated with the concentrations of LCNFs. The gradual FFA release in the small intestine stage from LCNF-coated lipid droplets was monitored over time, with a final lowest release of FFAs amounting to 26.3% in the emulsion containing 20.0% (v/v) of the dispersed phase stabilized by 3 mg/mL of LCNFs. This release can be attributed to the physical barrier at lipid droplet surfaces and the network effect created by the free LCNFs in the continuous phase. This work provides a foundation for the potential application of nature-derived LCNF materials in reducing fat absorbance.

Chitin nanocrystals/alginate complex for tuning stability, rheology and bioavailability of cholecalciferol in Pickering emulsions

In this paper we investigate polyelectrolyte complexes of sodium alginate (Alg) and chitin nanocrystals (ChNC). Formation, stability and transport properties of sunflower oil-in-water emulsions stabilized by ChNC-Alg complex were studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS), laser Doppler electrophoresis, optical microscopy, potentiometric titration, rheology and simulated digestion. It has been established that during emulsions formation, the ChNC-Alg complex is rearranged at the interface and the formation of a two-layer coating of the droplet occurs. Stabilized O/W emulsions are stable during storage, in the pH range 2-9 and centrifugal acceleration up to 2000 RCF. Presence of Ca2+ and Na+ ions in the range up to 150 mM has virtually no effect on the droplet size. Inclusion of 5 wt% Alg in the ChNC-based emulsion stabilizer system leads to a drop in Gibbs adsorption >16 times compared to the ChNC-stabilized emulsion, increase in viscosity and rheopexy index of the systems. We found that chemical properties of colloidal phase surface and rheological properties of emulsions stabilized by ChNC-Alg are mostly dependent on the droplet size, not the type of oil as a result of a comparative study of sunflower oil/liquid paraffin oil. Emulsion drops of an optimized composition are stable in the upper parts of the model gastrointestinal tract system and transport vitamin D3 to the small intestine without significant losses. The bioavailability of vitamin D3 in emulsions stabilized with the ChNC-Alg complex is higher than for emulsions stabilized with ChNC alone.