Fabrication of ovalbumin/κ-carrageenan complex nanoparticles as a novel carrier for curcumin delivery

Natural biopolymers are biocompatible and biodegradable, and have been a focus on the research of biologically active carrier materials. In this manuscript, the nanoparticles of ovalbumin/ κ -carrageenan (OVA-CRG) complex were fabricated to encapsulate and protect curcumin under moderate conditions, forming the ovalbumin/ κ -carrageenan/curcumin (OVA-CRG-CUR) complex nanoparticles. The OVA-CRG complex nanoparticles show good curcumin entrapping performance, and the addition of curcumin does not affect the emulsifying stability (ES) and emulsifying activity (EA) of OVA-CRG complex nanoparticles. The maximum ES of OVA-CRG-CUR is reached at 36 h with the value of 84.6 min, and the maximum EA is reached at 48 h with the value of 74.2 m 2 /g. The encapsulated curcumin demonstrates high antioxidation activity, while its thermal and light stabilities of curcumin are both increased. The release behavior of curcumin is further studied in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The lower release rate of curcumin in simulated gastric fluid with the final value of 12.9% after 3 h indicates that the OVA-CRG complex nanoparticles are good carriers for improving the stability of curcumin in acidic environment, and are able to enhance the bioavailability of curcumin by a gradual release in intestine. Present researches elucidate that proteins-polysaccharides complex nanoparticles are feasible to solubilize and protect sensitive amphiphilic bioactive compounds and have extensive potential in food and medicinal applications.