Glycated α-lactalbumin based micelles for quercetin delivery: Physicochemical stability and fate of simulated digestion

• Published in: Food Chemistry: X Vol. 13; p. 100257
• Main Authors: Yin, Wanting, Song, Luqing, Huang, Yanan, Chen, Fang, Hu, Xiaosong, Ma, Lingjun, Ji, Junfu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 30.03.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: (s) from the Special Issue on Stabilization, encapsulation and delivery of food components by Prof. Maurizio Battino and Dr. Haizhou Wu; Alpha-lactalbumin; Controlled release; Dextran; Maillard glycation; Quercetin; Dextran; Alpha-lactalbumin; Maillard glycation; Controlled release; Quercetin
• ISSN: 2590-1575; 2590-1575
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100257

•ALA-dextran conjugates were fabricated by Maillard reaction.•The conjugates had the high encapsulation efficiency on loading quercetin.•The micelles showed excellent pH, ionic strength and photothermal stability.•The micelles exhibited sustained release of quercetin by the resistance to enzymes.•The excellent stability made the conjugates promising materials for oral delivery. Glycated protein is a kind of promising material that can improve the bioavailability of bioactive compounds and achieve sustained release under digestion. In this study, the α-lactalbumin (ALA)-dextran conjugates synthesized by Maillard reaction were fabricated to load and protect quercetin. Quercetin-loaded micelles stabilized by the ALA-dextran conjugates 1:4 showed the smallest size (428.57 ± 5.64 nm) with highest encapsulation efficiency (94.38% ± 0.50%) of quercetin. Compared to ALA/dextran mixture complex, the conjugates-based micelles had better pH, ionic strength and photothermal stability. Furthermore, the micelles composed of the conjugates 1:2 and 1:4 showed the best controlled release effect during the simulated digestion, releasing 62.41% and 66.15% of quercetin from the total encapsulated contents, respectively, which was mainly related to the resistance of glycated ALA to the enzymes. The findings indicated that ALA-dextran conjugates could be effectively designed for the ideal delivery system of hydrophobic bioactive compounds in food industry.