Enhancing oxidative stability of encapsulated fish oil by incorporation of ferulic acid into electrospun zein mat

A composite zein nanofibrous mat containing fish oil and ferulic acid was successfully fabricated by electrospinning. The process became more fluent and continuous by adding 30 g/L glycerol into the polymer solutions and using modified coaxial electrospinning. The average diameter of nanofibers was 440 nm. The loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of fish oil were 20% and 94%, respectively. FTIR data demonstrated that fish oil and ferulic acid were successfully embedded into the nanofibers and there were interactions among the molecules of zein, fish oil and ferulic acid. Addition of ferulic acid into the nanofibers significantly improved the oxidative stability of encapsulated fish oil; moreover, it did not change the release behavior of fish oil. The release of encapsulated fish oil was controlled by a combination of diffusion and macromolecular chain relaxation. This composite nanofibrous mat with favorable oxidation stability and release property is potential in application as nutrition additive.