Interaction of α-lactalbumin with dihydromyricetin and its application in nano-emulsion

Summary The non-covalent interaction between α-lactalbumin (α-La) and dihydromyricetin (DMY) was systematically revealed based on spectrofluorimetry and molecular docking method, and the potential application of their complex as an emulsifier in nano-emulsion was evaluated. The results showed that DMY and α-La could form a non-covalent complex, which led to the static fluorescence quenching of α-La, and their complexation was driven by hydrogen bonding and van der Waals force, causing the changes in the microenvironment around the tryptophan and tyrosine residues of α-La, which was consistent with molecular docking analysis. The increase of the proportion of DMY in the complex could gradually improve the ability of the complex to reduce the oil/water interfacial tension and its ABTS radical scavenging ability. The stability and β-carotene protective effect of nano-emulsion developed by the complex were superior to those of nano-emulsion stabilised by α-La, which were positively correlated with the DMY concentration in the complex.