Zein-Alginate-Phosphatidylcholine Nanocomplex Efficiently Delivers Lycopene and Lutein over Dietary-Derived Carotenoid Mixed Micelles in Caco-2 Cells

Recent Advances in the Therapeutic Potential of Carotenoids in Preventing and Managing Metabolic Disorders

Carotenoids constitute compounds of significant biological interest due to their multiple biological activities, such as antimicrobial, anticancer, antiadipogenic, antidiabetic, and antioxidant properties. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) comprehends a series of metabolic abnormalities (e.g., hypertension, obesity, and atherogenic dyslipidemia) that can affect children, adolescents, and the elderly. The treatment of MetS involves numerous medications, which, despite their efficacy, pose challenges due to prolonged use, high costs, and various side effects. Carotenoids and their derivatives have been proposed as alternative treatments to MetS because they reduce serum triglyceride concentrations, promote insulin response, inhibit adipogenesis, and downregulate angiotensin-converting enzyme activity. However, carotenoids are notably sensitive to pH, light exposure, and temperature. This review addresses the activity of carotenoids such as lycopene, lutein, fucoxanthin, astaxanthin, crocin, and β-carotene towards MetS. It includes a discussion of sources, extraction methods, and characterization techniques for analyzing carotenoids. Encapsulation approaches are critically reviewed as alternatives to prevent degradation and improve the biological performance of carotenoids. A brief overview of the physiopathology and epidemiology of the diseases, including MetS, is also provided.

Antioxidant interaction between α-tocopherol and γ-oryzanol in HepG2 cells

Minor constituents exhibit certain antioxidant interactions in vitro, and the effects in different media are different. However, it is not clear whether there are antioxidant interactions in cells after digestion and absorption. We utilized the cellular antioxidant evaluation model in HepG2 cells to study the antioxidant interaction between α-tocopherol and γ-oryzanol, and the interaction mechanism of a binary mixture was also illustrated. A cellular antioxidant assay (CAA) model and a combined index (CI) method were firstly used to explore the antioxidant activity and interaction of the binary mixture in HepG2 cells. The CAA value was positively correlated with the single addition concentration, while the results displayed a biphasic tendency with increasing concentrations of the binary mixture. The combination of TO11 (1 μg mL-1 α-tocopherol and 10 μg mL-1 γ-oryzanol) showed the greatest antioxidant activity and synergistic effect, and the maximum CAA value reached up to 94.84 ± 4.2. Then the mechanism of the synergistic antioxidant effect of the binary mixture was explained from three aspects including cellular uptake, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and endogenous enzyme activity. The results demonstrated that the antioxidant interaction of the binary mixture in cells was related to cellular uptake of minor constituents, and the combination of TO11 exerted a synergistic effect by scavenging ROS and up-regulating glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity, resulting in the strongest cellular antioxidant activity. This study throws light on the nature of antioxidant interaction between minor constituents, which may contribute to the development of related functional foods and rational dietary collocation.