Remarkable Enhancement of Antioxidant Activity of the Ovalbumin–EGCG Conjugate through a Novel Preceding Selective Protection Grafting Strategy

Conventional radical grafting of proteins with catechins consumed the most antioxidant-active hydroxyls during grafting, thus failing to effectively retain antioxidant activity in conjugates. In this study, a novel strategy of selective protection of the most reactive hydroxyls before grafting was developed to preserve the most reactive hydroxyls and effectively retain antioxidant activity in conjugates. Selective protection of the most reactive hydroxyls of (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was successfully realized in a yield of 87% applying trimethyl orthopropionate and catalytic calcium triflate at 40 °C. The novel ovalbumin (OVA)–EGCG conjugate with 93% grafting ratio was prepared by radical grafting with the selectively protected EGCG and subsequent deprotection. Substantially enhanced antioxidant performance of the novel OVA–EGCG conjugate in liposomes was unveiled with notably reduced curcumin degradation and leakage. The strategy and approaches developed in this study will be valuable to effectively improve the antioxidant activities of protein–catechin grafting conjugates.