Nanocomplexes arising from protein-polysaccharide electrostatic interaction as a promising carrier for nutraceutical compounds

Abstract

The main purpose of the current work was exploring the potential application of the protein–polysaccharide soluble nanocomplexes as delivery systems for nutraceuticals in liquid foods. In this study, the intrinsic transporting property of β-lactoglobulin (BLG) was utilized to develop nanoscale green delivery systems. The binding analysis using fluorescence spectroscopy suggested that the complexation between BLG and four nutraceutical models including β-carotene, folic acid, curcumin and ergocalciferol occurred under all conditions but varied as a function of pH and nutraceutical type. The 1H-NMR study of hydrophilic ligands binding to BLG provided complementary information on the interactions between protein and water soluble ligands. These findings resulted in designing nanoscopic delivery systems for encapsulation of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic bioactives in clear liquid food products of acidic pH. The stability experiments demonstrated that the nutraceuticals of low solubility in water were successfully entrapped within electrostatically stable nanocomplexes arising from BLG-sodium alginate interactions. The electrophoretic mobility analysis showed that soluble nanocomplexes had good stability against aggregation.