Spray-drying of curcumin-loaded octenylsuccinated corn dextrin micelles stabilized with maltodextrin

Gum Arabic-Stabilized Ferric Oxyhydroxide Nanoparticles for Efficient and Targeted Intestinal Delivery of Bioavailable Iron

Nanostructured iron(III) compounds are promising food fortificants with desirable iron bioavailability and food compatibility. Here, gum arabic (GA) solubilized 252 mg of iron(III) per g at neutral pH in the form of GA-stabilized ferric oxyhydroxide nanoparticles (GA-FeONPs) with Z-average size of 142.7 ± 5.9 nm and ζ-potential of -20.50 ± 1.25 mV. Calcein-fluorescence-quenching assay revealed well-absorbed iron from GA-FeONPs by polarized Caco-2 cells due to efficient macropinocytic internalization and asialoglycoprotein receptor-mediated specific endocytosis facilitated by the polypeptide and arabinogalactan fractions of GA, respectively, with endocytosed GA-FeONPs being in part basolaterally transcytosed and in another part degraded into cellular labile iron pool. GA-FeONPs showed good colloidal stability under varied pH, gastrointestinal, thermal processing, and spray/freeze drying conditions and displayed remarkably weaker pro-oxidant activity than FeSO₄ in glyceryl trilinoleate emulsion (P < 0.05). Oral pharmacokinetics unveiled desirable iron bioavailability of GA-FeONPs relative to FeSO₄, i.e., 124.27 ± 5.91% in aqueous solution and 161.64 ± 5.01% in milk. Overall, GA-FeONPs are a promising novel iron fortificant with food-compatible, efficient, and targeted intestinal iron delivery and sustained iron-release properties.

The effect of polysorbate 20 and polysorbate 80 on the solubility of quercetin

Background: Quercetin acts as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, and anti-aging so quercetin can be used as a topical preparation. However, it has low solubility in water at 0.01 mg/ml at 25°C. Increasing the solubility of quercetin in water was done by the addition of surfactants. Objective: This study compared the solubility of quercetin in Polysorbate 20 (P20) and Polysorbate 80 (P80) in a citrate buffer medium pH 4.5±0.2. Methods: The surfactants Polysorbate 80 and Polysorbate 20 differ in their alkyl chain length. Polysorbate 80 has an alkyl chain length of 18, while Polysorbate 20 has an alkyl chain length of 12. The concentrations of surfactant are above, below, and at the critical micelle concentration (CMC) values. The concentrations of quercetin were determined at the maximum wavelength by spectrophotometric method. Results: The results of the quercetin solubility test without surfactant were 3.89±0.59 mg/L. The results of the quercetin solubility test by adding Polysorbate 20 at a concentration of 42.0 ppm; 57.5 ppm; and 73.0 ppm were 3.62±0.72, 4.04±0.23 and 8.35±1.97 mg/L, respectively. While the solubility of quercetin by adding Polysorbate 80 at a concentration of 4.0 ppm, 11.5 ppm, and 19.0 ppm was 11.15±0.72, 11.37±1.23 and 14.17±1.96 mg/L, respectively. The solubility of quercetin is greater after the addition of surfactant Polysorbate 20 only at the concentration above the CMC value and the solubility of quercetin is greater with the addition of surfactant Polysorbate 80 at all concentrations. Surfactant Polysorbate 20 increases the solubility of quercetin in citrate buffer pH 4.5±0.2 only at concentrations above the CMC value of 2.14 times. Polysorbate 80 can increase the solubility of quercetin in citrate buffer pH 4.5±0.2 at concentrations below, at, and above CMC by 2.87, 2.92, and 3.63 times, respectively. Conclusion: Polysorbate 80 can increase the solubility of quercetin in citrate buffer pH 4.5±0.2 higher than Polysorbate 20.

Recent advances of octenyl succinic anhydride modified polysaccharides as wall materials for nano-encapsulation of hydrophobic bioactive compounds

Polysaccharides can be esterified with octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA) to form derivatives with amphiphilic properties. The general preparation methods of OSA-polysaccharides are described, especially the aqueous method. The new hydrophobic groups introduced result in OSA-polysaccharides showing higher interfacial properties, better emulsifying stability, higher viscosity, and lower digestibility. There have been advances in the development of OSA-polysaccharides-based nano-encapsulation systems for hydrophobic bioactive compounds in recent years. Nano-encapsulation systems are formed through nanoemulsions, nanocapsules, nanoparticles, micelles, vesicles, molecular inclusion complexes, and so on. This review aims to describe the preparation methods, the structure characterizations, and the physicochemical properties of OSA-polysaccharides as encapsulating agents. In addition, the focus is on the different nano-encapsulation systems based on OSA-polysaccharides as wall materials. Future perspectives will concern OSA-polysaccharides-based nano-encapsulation systems with optimized functional properties for providing higher bioavailability and targeted delivery of various hydrophobic bioactive compounds. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Fabrication and characterization of octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan micelles for encapsulating curcumin

BACKGROUND

Curcumin has become increasingly popular in functional foods and beverages field as a result of its high biological activity. Nevertheless, the application of curcumin is usually limited by its poor water solubility, low absorption, rapid metabolism and instability. Accordingly, the development of an appropriate wall material is crucial for its effective use. In the present study, curcumin-octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan (Cur-OSAP) micelles were successfully prepared by an anti-solvent co-precipitation method.

RESULTS

Octenyl succinic anhydride modified pullulan (OSAP) micelles exhibited the highest encapsulation efficiency (57.31%) and loading capacity (5.73%) of curcumin when the mass ratio of OSAP to curcumin was 10:1 and the degree of substitution of OSAP was 0.0469, at which point Cur-OSAP micelles formed via hydrogen binding and hydrophobic interactions, as confirmed by Fourier transform infrared and fluorescence techniques. The transmission electron microscopy results showed that the Cur-OSAP micelles were roughly spherical in shape with diameters in the approximate range 30-60 nm.

CONCLUSION

The encapsulation of OSAP greatly improved photostability and sustained release properties of curcumin in Cur-OSAP micelles. These findings suggest that OSAP can be used as a carrier to encapsulate and protect hydrophobic food ingredients. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Polyphosphates as an effective vehicle for delivery of bioavailable nanoparticulate iron(III)

Polyphosphates are widely used food additives with the potential to increase iron bioavailability but chemical nature of their soluble complexes with iron remains largely unknown. Here, pyrophosphate, tripolyphosphate, hexametaphosphate and ∼25-chain-length polyphosphate solubilized 896, 896, 1120 and 1344 mg Fe(III) per g, respectively, at neutral pH by mediating the formation of highly-negatively-charged ferric hydroxide-polyphosphate nanoparticles (PolyP-FeONPs). PolyP-FeONPs displayed fading yellow color with increasing initial dissolved P/Fe ratio ((P/Fe)_init) and decreasing polyphosphate length due to rising proportion of Fe(III)-phosphate bonds, and specifically, pyrophosphate resulted colorless PolyP-FeONPs at (P/Fe)_init ≥ 4. PolyP-FeONPs had weak pro-oxidant activity in glyceryl trilinoleate emulsion and good colloidal stability under spray/freeze-drying and gastrointestinal conditions. Serum iron kinetics in rats revealed sustained iron release and ∼170% iron bioavailability of oral PolyP-FeONPs relative to FeSO₄. Calcein-fluorescence-quenching assay in polarized Caco-2 cells unveiled divalent-metal-transporter-1-independent and macropinocytosis-dependent iron uptake from PolyP-FeONPs. This study helps develop food-compatible, highly-bioavailable and sustained-release iron preparations.

Preparation of mPEG-b-PLA/TM-2 Micelle Lyophilized Products by Mixed Lyoprotectors and Antitumor Effect In Vivo

The objective of this study was to encapsulate the poorly water-soluble drug TM-2 into polymer micelles using mPEG_2k-b-PLA_2.4k to increase its aqueous solubility and improve its therapeutic effect for liver cancer. Furthermore, in order to achieve long-term storage, the micelle solution was successfully freeze-dried. This study theoretically clarified the possibility of enhancing the water solubility of TM-2 using mPEG_2k-b-PLA_2.4k micelles as well as the protective effects of mixed lyoprotectants. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were performed, which showed that the drug has a good affinity with the polymer (χ = 0.489) according to Flory-Huggins theory and that lyoprotectants reduced the crystallinity of PEG in mPEG_2k-b-PLA_2.4k and played a space-protective role in the lyophilization process. In vivo experiments showed that micellization could improve the drug bioavailability and give a high therapeutic effect with a tumor inhibition rate of 84.5% under the tolerated dose.

Encapsulation of Vitamins A and E as Spray-Dried Additives for the Feed Industry

Encapsulated fat-soluble powders containing vitamin A (VA) and E (VE) were prepared as a feasible additive for extruded feed products. The effect of the encapsulating agents (Capsul-CAP®, sodium caseinate-SC) in combination with Tween 80 (TW) as an emulsifier and maltodextrin (MD) as a wall material on the physicochemical properties of emulsions and powders was evaluated. First, nanoemulsions containing MD:CAP:TW:VA/VE and MD:SC:TW:VA/VE were prepared and characterized. Then, powders were obtained by means of spray-drying and analyzed in terms of the product yield, encapsulation efficiency, moisture content, porosity, surface morphology, chemical structure, and thermal properties and thermo-oxidative/thermal stability. Results showed that although nanoemulsions were obtained for all the compositions, homogeneous microcapsules were found after the drying process. High product yield and encapsulation efficiency were obtained, and the presence of the vitamins was corroborated. The characteristics of the powders were mainly influenced by the encapsulating agent used and also by the type of vitamin. In general, the microcapsules remained thermally stable up to 170 °C and, therefore, the proposed encapsulation systems for vitamins A and E were suitable for the preparation of additives for the feed manufacturing through the extrusion process.

Characterization and Dissolution Study of Micellar Curcumin-Spray Dried Powder for Oral Delivery

Introduction

Curcumin faces a major challenge in clinical use due to its poor aqueous solubility, which affects its bioavailability over oral use. The present study was carried out to overcome this problem.

Methods

An amorphous micellar curcumin-spray dried powder (MC-SDP) with self-assembled casein was prepared by the addition of sucrose as a protectant. The dry powder of curcumin-loaded micelles was obtained by a spray-drying technique in the presence of sucrose as a protectant. The MC-SDP in the form of dry powder was further developed into tablets to investigate the dissolution profile. The physical properties of preformed powder were characterized by differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Quantitative analysis in the form of solutions was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Results

The physical properties demonstrated that MC-SDP varies from dented to smoother surfaces as a function of sucrose. Furthermore, melting transitions of curcumin in the form of MC-SDP were broadened in all sample mixtures, as observed in the DTA thermogram. The XRD spectra showed that the sharp and very intense peaks of single curcumin crystalline structure no longer existed in all MC-SDP forms, indicating that the mixtures were amorphous. Moreover, a further dissolution study of MC-SDP showed a significant increase of drug dissolved with the presence of sucrose, where >80% of curcumin from MC-SDP was dissolved within 30 min.

Conclusion

The study demonstrated the manufacture of micellar spray-dried powder that would contribute to the development of oral delivery of curcumin.

Self-Assembled Carbohydrate Polymers for Food Applications: A Review

The self-assembled natural and synthetic polymers are booming. However, natural polymers obtained from native or modified carbohydrate polymers (CPs), such as celluloses, chitosan, glucans, gums, pectins, and starches, have had special attention as raw material in the manufacture of self-assembled polymer composite materials having several forms: films, hydrogels, micelles, and particles. The easy manipulation of the architecture of the CPs, as well as their high availability in nature, low cost, and being sustainable and green polymers have been the main positive points in the use of them for different applications. CPs have been used as building blocks for composite structures, and their easy orientation and ordering has given rise to self-assembled CPs (SCPs). These macromolecules have been little studied for food applications. Nonetheless, their research has grown mainly in the last 5 years as encapsulated food additive wall materials, food coatings, and edible films. The multifaceted properties (systems sensitive to pH, temperature, ionic strength, types of ions, mechanical force, and enzymes) of these devices are leading to the development of advanced food materials. This review article focused on the analysis of SCPs for food applications in order to encourage other research groups for their preparation and implementation.