Manufacture and Physicochemical Properties of Chitosan Oligosaccharide/A2 β-Casein Nano-Delivery System Entrapped with Resveratrol

Bovine milk β-casein: Structure, properties, isolation, and targeted application of isolated products

β-Casein, an important protein found in bovine milk, has significant potential for application in the food, pharmaceutical, and other related industries. This review first introduces the composition, structure, and functional properties of β-casein. It then reviews the techniques for isolating β-casein. Chemical and enzymatic isolation methods result in inactivity of β-casein and other components in the milk, and it is difficult to control the production conditions, limiting the utilization range of products. Physical technology not only achieves high product purity and activity but also effectively preserves the biological activity of the components. The isolated β-casein needs to be utilized effectively and efficiently for various purity products in order to achieve optimal targeted application. Bovine β-casein, which has a purity higher than or close to that of breast β-casein, can be used in infant formulas. This is achieved by modifying its structure through dephosphorylation, resulting in a formula that closely mimics the composition of breast milk. Bovine β-casein, which is lower in purity than breast β-casein, can be maximized for the preparation of functional peptides and for use as natural carriers. The remaining byproducts can be utilized as food ingredients, emulsifiers, and carriers for encapsulating and delivering active substances. Thus, realizing the intensive processing and utilization of bovine β-casein isolation. This review can promote the industrial production process of β-casein, which is beneficial for the sustainable development of β-casein as a food and material. It also provides valuable insights for the development of other active substances in milk.

Chitosan-tripolyphosphate nanoparticles designed to encapsulate polyphenolic compounds for biomedical and pharmaceutical applications - A review

Plant-based polyphenols are natural compounds, present in fruits and vegetables. During recent years, polyphenols have gained special attention due to their nutraceutical and pharmacological activities for the prevention and treatment of human diseases. Nevertheless, their photosensitivity and low bioavailability, rapid metabolism and short biological half-life represent the major limitations for their use, which could be overcome by polyphenols encapsulation (flavonoids and non-flavonoids) into chitosan (CS)-tripolyphosphate (TPP) based nanoparticles (NP). In this review, we particularly focused on the ionic gelation method for the NP design. This contribution exhaustively discusses and compares results of scientific reports published in the last decade referring to ionic gelation applied for the protection, controlled and site-directed delivery of polyphenols. As a consequence, CS-TPP NP would constitute true platforms to transport polyphenols, or a combination of them, to be used for the designing of a new generation of drugs or nutraceuticals.

Interface Compositions as Determinants of Resveratrol Stability in Nanoemulsion Delivery Systems

The incorporation of hydrophobic ingredients, such as resveratrol (a fat-soluble phytochemical), in nanoemulsions can increase the water solubility and stability of these hydrophobic ingredients. The nanodelivery of resveratrol can result in a marked improvement in the bioavailability of this health-promoting ingredient. The current study hypothesized that resveratrol can bind to caprine casein, which may result in the preservation of the biological properties of resveratrol. The fluorescence spectra provided proof of this complex formation by demonstrating that resveratrol binds to caprine casein in the vicinity of tryptophan amino acid residues. The caprine casein/resveratrol complex is stabilized by hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonds. Hence, to study the rate of resveratrol degradation during processing/storage, resveratrol losses were determined by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) in nanoemulsions stabilized by bovine and caprine caseins individually and in combination with polysorbate-20. At 48 h oxidation, 88.33% and 89.08% was left of resveratrol in the nanoemulsions stabilized by caprine casein (α_s1-I)/polysorbate-20 complex and caprine (α_s1-II)/polysorbate-20 complex, while there was less resveratrol left in the nanoemulsions stabilized by bovine casein/polysorbate-20 complex, suggesting that oxygen degradation was involved. The findings of this study are crucial for the food industry since they imply the potential use of caprine casein/polysorbate-20 complex to preserve the biological properties of resveratrol.