Abstract:Quercetin (Que), as a bioactive component, has very poor water solubility and chemical stability, which limits its application in the field of functional foods as an antioxidant. Wheat protein hydrolysate (WPH) was used to fabricate hydrolysate-quercetin nanoparticles in this paper. The colloidal properties, morphology, and the interaction between hydrolysate and quercetin were characterized. WPH exhibited good micelle formation and interfacial activities. Complex nanoparticles could be fabricated due to the self-assembly of amphiphilic polypeptides in WPH during a anti-solvent process. The water solubility of Que was significantly increased and reached 126 μg/mL when the protein hydrolysate concentration was 5mg/mL. The complex nanoparticles were spherical particles with a hydrodynamic diameter of less than 100 nm, which showed a good monodispersity and colloidal stability. Fluorescence and X - ray diffraction analysis indicated that the formation of complex nanoparticles might be attributed to the occurrence of hydrophobic interactions between protein hydrolysate and Que.
