Investigation of curcumin emulsion stability and gastrointestinal digestion prepared with rapeseed oil body

In this study, rapeseed oil bodies (RPOBs) were used to prepare curcumin emulsions (CEs) in order to investigate their stability and gastrointestinal. The results showed that particle size significantly reduced ( p < .05) with increasing RPOBs concentrations from 1.0 to 6.0 wt%. Additionally, CEs showed good stability at pH 2.0–10.0. However, CEs were instable at salt concentration ranging from 100 to 500 mM and at temperatures between 35 and 95°C. CE fat droplet size after 30 min of digestion time exhibited a remarkable increase ( p < .05) compared with other times. Upon exposure to simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) conditions, CEs particle sizes gradually decreased with increasing digestion time. Then, 56% curcumin and 40 μmol/ml free fatty acids were produced from CEs after 180 min digestion time under SIF conditions. Practical applications Our findings indicate that rapeseed oil bodies as a novel carrier can be applied for the delivery-controlled release of lipophilic bioactive compounds from emulsions during gastrointestinal digestion.