Valorization of cashew nut testa phenolics through nano-complexes stabilized with whey protein isolate and ß-cyclodextrin: Characterization, anti-oxidant activity, stability and in vitro release.

Cashew nut testa (CNT) is an underutilized cashew by-product rich in polyphenols. The applications of CNT are limited due to its astringency, less solubility, and instability of polyphenols during the processing. Nanoencapsulation was used to overcome these limitations. ß-cyclodextrin alone and in combination with whey protein isolate (WPI) was used for nano-complex preparation. The WPI/CD-CNT nano-complex powder showed higher encapsulation efficiency (86.9%) and yield (70.5-80%) compared to CD-CNT powder. Both the spray-dried powders showed improved thermal stability, higher solubility (97%), less moisture content, and increased DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities indicating potential food and agricultural applications. In addition, the nano-complex powders showed a controlled release of core bio-actives under gastric and intestinal pH compared to the non-encapsulated CNT phenolic extract. Degradation kinetics studies of the CNT extract after thermal and light treatments were also discussed. Both the nano-complexes showed high stability under light and thermal treatment. The results suggest that valorization of CNT can be done through nano-complex preparation and WPI and ß-CD are efficient carrier materials for the encapsulation of polyphenols with potential applications in food and agriculture.

Assessment of acute and subacute toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and biodistribution of eugenol nanoparticles after oral exposure in Wistar rats.

The present study aimed to assess the safety, toxicity, biodistribution, and pharmacokinetics of eugenol nanoparticles (EONs) following oral administration in Wistar rat models. In the acute toxicity study, the rats were given a fixed dose of 50, 300, and 2000 mg/kg body weight per group orally and screened for 2 weeks after administration. In the subacute study, three different doses (500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg BW) of EON were administered for 28 days. The results indicated no significant differences in food and water consumption, bodyweight change, hematological and biochemical parameters, relative organ weights, gross findings, or histopathology compared to the control. Additionally, no significant changes were observed in the expression profiles of inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, and TNFα in the plasma, confirming the absence of systemic inflammation. Biodistribution analysis revealed rapid absorption of eugenol and improved bioavailability due to gradual and sustained release, leading to a maximum eugenol concentration of 15.05 µg/mL (Cmax) at approximately 8 h (Tmax) in the blood plasma. Thus, the study provides valuable insights into the utilization of EON for enhancing the stability, solubility, and sustained release of eugenol and highlights its promising safety profile in vivo.

Influence of milk fat on the physicochemical property of nanoencapsulated curcumin and enhancement of its biological properties thereof.

Curcumin, bioactive from turmeric Curcuma longa, has been known for its therapeutic properties. However, its lipophilic nature and poor bioavailability are the constraints to harnessing its properties. Encapsulation in nano-size helps to alleviate the constraints and enhance its biological properties due to its higher surface area. The study aims to encapsulate curcumin in a nanometer size range by solubilizing in lipid (milk fat) and using milk protein as a water-soluble carrier. The lipid:curcumin ratio (1:0.05, 1:0.1, 1:0.2, 1.5:0.1, 1.5:0.2, 2.0:0.1 and 2:0.2% (w/w)) produced nanoemulsion with droplets sizes 30-200 nm. The sample containing lipid: curcumin, as 1.0:0.05 resulted in an encapsulation efficiency of 92.6%, and its binding interaction with the carrier, was KD = 4.7 µM. A high solubility of curcumin in milk fat and digestion during in vitro lipolysis increased its bioaccessibility. A simulated gastro-intestinal in vitro studies showed that cumulative release percentage of nanoencapsulated curcumin was 60% at pH 7.4 compared to 0.8% of native curcumin. The anti-microbial property of nanoencapsulated curcumin was more potent than native curcumin against food pathogenic organisms such as S. aureus, B. cereus, E. coli, B. subtilis, P. aeruginosa, P. aeruginosa, C. violaceum. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-023-05684-5.

Curcumin loaded core-shell biopolymers colloid and its incorporation in Indian Basmati rice: An enhanced stability, anti-oxidant activity and sensory attributes of fortified rice.

Curcumin, a major bioactive in curcuminoids and food colorant, possess therapeutic properties, however, its low water solubility, instability during processing limit its industrial applications. The nanoencapsulated curcumin (NEC) in sodium caseinate (SC) and Maillard conjugate (MC) showed >90% water solubility. Encapsulation in MC reduced particle size (150 to 120 nm) zeta potential (-34 to -45 mV) and improved encapsulation efficiency (74 to 94%) compared to SC under optimized Tween20 and salt-ions. The in-vitro bioaccessibility of NEC was 300% more than curcumin (pH 7.4). The curcumin (0.092 mmol) and spray-dried NEC (0-0.092 mmol) were incorporated in Indian Basmati rice. The UV-VIS revealed 14, 10% higher stability of NEC (0.069 mmol) incorporated rice under dark and light at 27 ± 2 °C and 43, 39% more in thermally processed limited and excess water conditions, respectively, than curcumin. The high visual appeal and anti-oxidant activity (60%) of NEC Basmati rice demonstrated application in fortified product development.

Micro and nanoemulsions of Carissa spinarum fruit polyphenols, enhances anthocyanin stability and anti-quorum sensing activity: Comparison of degradation kinetics.

The low stability of anthocyanins is a constraint in the food industry. The present work has been carried out to overcome this low stability by encapsulating fruit concentrate of underutilized plant Carissa spinarum (CS) with polyphenols in microemulsions (CSME) and nanoemulsions (CSNE). Increasing the amount of CS reduced the particle size from 1154 to 70-300 nm whereas addition of Tween 80 reduced it optimally to 5-25 nm. Degradation of anthocyanins in control and ME/NE proceeded with zero- and first-order reaction rates, respectively, at 28 °C (half-life 6, 25 and 40 days, respectively). The degradation kinetics of phenolics-flavonoids were also studied. CSNE exhibited higher anti-quorum sensing (QS) activity than CSME against Chromobacterium violaceum (73.7%); it inhibited biofilm formation by 70.1 and 64.4% in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Yersinia enterocolitica, respectively. This is the first report of using the more stable ME/NE to study anti-QS activity, an alternative to conventional antibiotics.

Influence of sodium caseinate, maltodextrin, pectin and their Maillard conjugate on the stability, in vitro release, anti-oxidant property and cell viability of eugenol-olive oil nanoemulsions.

The influence of protein (sodium caseinate-SC), polysaccharide (maltodextrin-MD; pectin-PC) and their Maillard conjugates (sodium caseinate maltodextrin conjugate-SCMDC; sodium caseinate pectin conjugate-SCPCC) were studied on the physico-chemical and biological properties of eugenol nanoemulsions/powder. The chemical composition was optimized using Taguchi design. The particles size of eugenol nanoemulsions with SC, MD, PC, SCMDC and SCPCC were 104.6, 323.5, 1872, 181.7, and 454.4 nm, respectively while their zeta potentials were -31.2, -28.5, -21.4, -40.1 and -25.1 mV, respectively. Turbidity studies revealed higher stability of nanoemulsion prepared with Maillard conjugate (SCMDC) compared to protein or polysaccharides alone. The dispersion of SCMDC eugenol nanoparticles in buffer was prepared to study its stability at different pH (3.0, 5.0, and 7.0) and temperature (4°, 37°, 60 °C) range. In-vitro enzymatic release study showed 31 and 74% release of eugenol after 6 h at pH 2.4 and 7.4, respectively. In vitro antioxidant capacity of SCMDC encapsulated eugenol was higher than native eugenol, as demonstrated by free radical scavenging assays. In comparison to native eugenol, E:SCMDC eugenol showed reduced toxicity. These findings suggested that nanoencapsulated eugenol (E:SCMDC) have a huge potential in nutraceutical and therapeutic applications.