Abstract
Panax Notoginseng Saponins (PNS) may be beneficial to human health due to their bioactive function. The application of PNS in functional foods was limited due to the bitter taste and low oral bioavailability. PNS were encapsulated by polymerized whey protein (PWP) nanoparticles. The physicochemical, digestive, and sensory properties of the nanoparticles were investigated. Results showed that the nanoparticles had a particle size of 55 nm, the zeta potential of −28 mV, and high PNS encapsulation efficiency (92.94%) when the mass ratio of PNS to PWP was 1:30. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) results revealed that PNS were successfully encapsulated by PWP. The mainly intermolecular forces between PNS and PWP were hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Results of simulated gastrointestinal digestion indicated that the PNS-PWP (1:30) nanoparticles had smaller average particle size (36 nm) after treatment with gastric fluids and increased particle size (75 nm) after treatment with intestinal fluids. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) micrographs reflected that the nanoparticles had irregular spherical structures. The encapsulated PNS exhibited significantly (p < 0.05) decreased bitterness compared to the non-encapsulated PNS confirmed by the electronic tongue. The results indicated that encapsulation of PNS with PWP could facilitate their application in functional foods.
Highlights
IntroductionPublisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations
Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are unacceptable to consumers due to the bitter taste, are unstable in the stomach, and present low oral bioavailability [9,10], which limits their applications in the food industry
100◦°C, whichmight mightresult resultfrom fromthe the showed that polymerized whey protein (PWP) have an endothermic peak near 100 °C, which might result from the
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The plant Panax notoginseng (Burk.) F.H. Chen is a genus of ginseng in the Araliaceae family. The components of Panax notoginseng include polysaccharides, nonprotein amino acids, flavonoids, and other components [1]. Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) are considered the main biologically active components [2]. The effective activities of saponins result from the hydrolytic aglycone and secondary aglycone [3]. Studies have found that PNS have beneficial effects on curing cardiovascular diseases [4] and show antiosteoporosis [5], anti-cancer [6], anti-inflammatory [7] activities as well as protecting action with regard to liver and kidney [8]. PNS are unacceptable to consumers due to the bitter taste, are unstable in the stomach, and present low oral bioavailability [9,10], which limits their applications in the food industry
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