Casein-pectin nanocomplexes as a potential oral delivery system for improving stability and bioactivity of curcumin

• DOI: 10.1007/s00396-021-04858-x
• Publication Date: 2021-08-17T22:02:42Z
• Authors: Chenghuan Hua; Wenjie Yu; Mingyue Yang; Qun Cai; Tian Gao; Silong Zhang; Huan Xu; Huan He; Na Peng; Yi Liu
• Keywords: Pectin; Dispersity; Zeta potential

New nanocomplexes containing curcumin-loaded casein micelles and surface-coated pectin via electrostatic interaction were fabricated. Curcumin-loaded nanocomplexes prepared at pH 4 showed the most excellent performance than that at pH 3 and pH 2, which had an average size of 266.4 nm (polydispersity index = 0.193) and loading capacity of 93%. The morphology of nanocomplexes exhibited as monodisperse spherical nanoparticles observed by SEM and TEM. The experiment of anti-oxidant activity demonstrated that nanocomplexes tremendously kept the bioactivity of curcumin. Moreover, in vitro release behaviors of curcumin from casein-pectin nanocomplexes indicated that the surface coating layer of pectin obviously delayed the release of curcumin in simulated gastric fluid, and the controlled release ability in simulated intestinal fluid was greatly enhanced. The casein-pectin nanocomplexes exhibited as a promising oral delivery vehicle of bioactive ingredients in food and pharmacy.