Preparation, Characterization, in Vitro Digestion, and Antioxidant Activity of Curcumin-loaded Zein-carboxymethyl Chitosan Nanocomplexes
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Abstract:
Zein and carboxymethylchitosan (CMCS) were used to prepare curcumin (CUR)-loaded nanocomplexes with the anti-solvent method. The preparation conditions of zein/CMCS-CUR nanocomplexes were optimized based on the indicators of particle size, potential, encapsulation efficiency, and polydispersity index (PDI). When the mass ratio of zein/CMCS to CUR was 10:1, the prepared nanocomplexes showed a relatively small particle size (95.37 nm), zeta potential of -21.70 mV, encapsulation efficiency of 96.63%, and loading capacity of 4.55%. The interactions among zein, CMCS, and CUR were explored through Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and the micromorphology of nanocomposites was observed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). FT-IR showed that hydrogen bonding and electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions were the major driving forces for the assembly of nanocomplexes. DSC and XRD showed that curcumin was successfully embedded in the zein/CMCS complex in an amorphous state. Moreover, SEM and TEM images showed that the zein/CMCS-CUR nanocomplexes were spherical and evenly distributed. In vitro antioxidant assay revealed that curcumin continued to exhibit potent antioxidant activity following encapsulation in the nanocomplexes, and in vitro digestion experiments demonstrated that sustained release of curcumin was achieved. This study can serve as a valuable reference for the application of curcumin in the field of functional foods.
